This is such fantastic news. If you've never seen a Miyazaki film, then you must. I have an entire collection of his films.

TOKYO (AFP) - Hayao Miyazaki's first full-length film in four years hit screens across Japan on Saturday, putting aside speculation that the Oscar-winning Japanese animator had made his last picture.

A 650-seat movie theatre at Tokyo's shopping and business district of Hibiya was filled with his fans, mostly children and their parents, to watch "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea," which the reclusive 67-year-old wrote and directed.

Inspired by the 19th-century fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, the story centres around a tiny fish-girl, Ponyo, who rides a jellyfish to escape her home in the sea.

She meets a five-year-old boy, Sosuke, who vows to protect her, but Ponyo is taken back to the sea. Desperate to be a human and live with Sosuke, Ponyo heads to land again with help from her sisters.

Miyazaki is one of Japan's biggest cultural exports. His last film, "Howl's Moving Castle," broke opening box office records at home in 2004 before winning a cult following in Western and Asian nations.

Miyazaki has said repeatedly in the past that he wants to retire.

The 2004 release of "Howl's Moving Castle" was met by speculation that it would be his last film, raising concerns in Japan for the future of the lucrative animation industry.

But "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" has dampened such concern.

Miyazaki, who had used computer graphics since "Princess Mononoke" in 1997, decided to shun hi-tech effects in his latest picture.

Miyazaki's second to last film, "Spirited Away," won the Academy Award in 2003 for best animated feature, Japan's first Oscar for a full-length work in nearly half a century.

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By CIARAN GILES, Associated Press Writer

MADRID, Spain - Saudi Arabia won praise Friday for taking a leading role in an interfaith conference, with participants saying it was another sign the conservative Muslim kingdom is opening up.

Rabbi David Rosen, the only Israeli who attended the three-day meeting led by Saudi King Abdullah, said he believes the oil-rich Persian Gulf kingdom also wants to reaffirm leadership in the Muslim world for fear of greater instability.

"The Saudis are definitely opening up," said Rosen, who heads inter-religious relations for the American Jewish Committee and is a former chief rabbi of Ireland. "I have heard from the Saudis that this is a culmination of a process that began the moment Abdullah ascended to the throne and that he actually wants to open up Saudi society."

The Saudi monarch unexpectedly called the conference about a month ago. It brought together Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists among other religions and was hosted by Spain. The meeting ended on Friday.

Critics said the Saudis were the last people who should be leading a conference on religious dialogue given that Wahhabism — the austere strain of Sunni Islam practiced in the kingdom — is considered one of the religion's most conservative. Many believe the conference was held in Spain partly because it would be politically unpalatable for Abdullah to allow Jewish and Christian leaders on Saudi soil.

However, Abdullah has made reaching out to other faiths a hallmark of his rule since taking over the country in 2005. He met with Pope Benedict XVI late last year, the first meeting ever between a pope and a reigning Saudi king.

And in June, Abdullah held a religious conference at home in Mecca, Islam's holiest city. At that meeting, participants pledged improved relations between Islam's two main branches, Sunni and Shiite, and Abdullah also rejected extremism, saying Muslims must present Islam's "good message" to the world.

"It's also believed that he is very concerned about instability in the region obviously in relation to Israel, Palestine, but especially Iraq and even more the ascendancy of Iran and that there is a need to reaffirm what he sees as Saudi Arabia's leadership in the region," said Rosen, who holds dual Israeli-American citizenship.

William Baker, president of the U.S. group Christians and Muslims for Peace, said the real significance of the meeting was that "it originated in the heart of Islam."

"This could not come at a better time for the whole world and peace and it could not have come from a better place as Islam is being propagandized against, lied about and distorted in the West for political purposes," said Baker.

Saudi Arabia presented the conference as a strictly religious initiative. The World Muslim League, which organized it for the king, was adamant there would be no discussions of political issues such as the war in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or Iranian nuclear ambitions.

At the conference, delegates dwelt instead on issues such as dialogue within the Islamic world and with other denominations. Other topics debated were the need to protect the family, the role of women in religion and ways to protect the environment. They agreed to try to organize more conferences and involve the United Nations.

For Rosen, the fact that the conference took place at all was the most significant thing.

"There have been interfaith conferences before, but never by the king of Saudi Arabia," he said. "This is an incredible advancement."

Sitting in front of my home, practicing my instruments on a truly lovely Spring day. We found out in the past few days that chamomile won't dry in a pyramid. This is a bit of a disappointment since I was looking forward to chamomile tea. However, I've managed to dry and crush roses so the experiment with rose tea can go forward.

In the meantime, I'm drying small cherry blossoms. At least, I'm trying to. They seem to be taking quite a bit longer than I had imagined. I'll give it a day or so before giving up on these as well.

There was an invasion in Shard two days ago. I was asleep at the time, although Celturian wondered how I could sleep through all the racket. What can I say? I'm a sound sleeper and dreamed the dreams of the innocent. Anyway, the Hive woke up again and, once again, the Rangers had a premonition? vision? of what was to happen. This is the second time, I believe, that it has happened. We can only guess at what is to come. Celturian managed to lose his favorite sword during the invasion, too. I'm going to keep my eye out for a forged scimitar for him.

As a side note, it seems that lavender has disappeared fron the Lands. Rangers and others of high foraging skills cannot find it, even its normal foraging spots. Since lavender is a preferred offering of Meraud, one has to wonder if magic is about to "break" once more. Of course, the Gods may have decided to change the season of growth for this foragable. Time will only tell.

Barangaroo, Sydney Harbour
Thursday, 17 July 2008

Source: Vatican.va site World Youth Day Celebrations

Dear Young People,

What a delight it is to greet you here at Barangaroo, on the shores of the magnificent Sydney harbour, with its famous bridge and Opera House. Many of you are local, from the outback or the dynamic multicultural communities of Australian cities. Others of you have come from the scattered islands of Oceania, and others still from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. Some of you, indeed, have come from as far as I have, Europe! Wherever we are from, we are here at last in Sydney. And together we stand in our world as God’s family, disciples of Christ, empowered by his Spirit to be witnesses of his love and truth for everyone!

I wish firstly to thank the Aboriginal Elders who welcomed me prior to my boarding the boat at Rose Bay. I am deeply moved to stand on your land, knowing the suffering and injustices it has borne, but aware too of the healing and hope that are now at work, rightly bringing pride to all Australian citizens. To the young indigenous - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - and the Tokelauans, I express my thanks for your stirring welcome. Through you, I send heartfelt greetings to your peoples.

Cardinal Pell and Archbishop Wilson, I thank you for your warm words of welcome. I know that your sentiments resonate in the hearts of the young gathered here this evening, and so I thank you all. Standing before me I see a vibrant image of the universal Church. The variety of nations and cultures from which you hail shows that indeed Christ’s Good News is for everyone; it has reached the ends of the earth. Yet I know too that a good number of you are still seeking a spiritual homeland. Some of you, most welcome among us, are not Catholic or Christian. Others of you perhaps hover at the edge of parish and Church life. To you I wish to offer encouragement: step forward into Christ’s loving embrace; recognize the Church as your home. No one need remain on the outside, for from the day of Pentecost the Church has been one and universal.

This evening I wish also to include those who are not present among us. I am thinking especially of the sick or mentally ill, young people in prison, those struggling on the margins of our societies, and those who for whatever reason feel alienated from the Church. To them I say: Jesus is close to you! Feel his healing embrace, his compassion and mercy!

Almost two thousand years ago, the Apostles, gathered in the upper room together with Mary and some faithful women, were filled with the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14; 2:4). At that extraordinary moment, which gave birth to the Church, the confusion and fear that had gripped Christ’s disciples were transformed into a vigorous conviction and sense of purpose. They felt impelled to speak of their encounter with the risen Jesus whom they had come to call affectionately, the Lord. In many ways, the Apostles were ordinary. None could claim to be the perfect disciple. They failed to recognize Christ (cf. Lk 24:13-32), felt ashamed of their own ambition (cf. Lk 22:24-27), and had even denied him (cf. Lk 22:54-62). Yet, when empowered by the Holy Spirit, they were transfixed by the truth of Christ’s Gospel and inspired to proclaim it fearlessly.

Emboldened, they exclaimed: repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:37-38)! Grounded in the Apostles’ teaching, in fellowship, and in the breaking of the bread and prayer (cf. Acts 2:42), the young Christian community moved forward to oppose the perversity in the culture around them (cf. Acts 2:40), to care for one another (cf. Acts 2:44-47), to defend their belief in Jesus in the face of hostility (cf Acts 4:33), and to heal the sick (cf. Acts 5:12-16). And in obedience to Christ’s own command, they set forth, bearing witness to the greatest story ever: that God has become one of us, that the divine has entered human history in order to transform it, and that we are called to immerse ourselves in Christ’s saving love which triumphs over evil and death.

Saint Paul, in his famous speech to the Areopagus, introduced the message in this way: “God gives everything – including life and breath – to everyone … so that all nations might seek God and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him. In fact he is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17: 25-28).

And ever since, men and women have set out to tell the same story, witnessing to Christ’s truth and love, and contributing to the Church’s mission. Today, we think of those pioneering Priests, Sisters and Brothers who came to these shores, and to other parts of the Pacific, from Ireland, France, Britain and elsewhere in Europe. The great majority were young - some still in their late teens - and when they bade farewell to their parents, brothers and sisters, and friends, they knew they were unlikely ever to return home. Their whole lives were a selfless Christian witness.

They became the humble but tenacious builders of so much of the social and spiritual heritage which still today brings goodness, compassion and purpose to these nations. And they went on to inspire another generation. We think immediately of the faith which sustained Blessed Mary MacKillop in her sheer determination to educate especially the poor, and Blessed Peter To Rot in his steadfast resolution that community leadership must always include the Gospel. Think also of your own grandparents and parents, your first teachers in faith. They too have made countless sacrifices of time and energy, out of love for you. Supported by your parish priests and teachers, they have the task, not always easy but greatly satisfying, of guiding you towards all that is good and true, through their own witness - their teaching and living of our Christian faith.

Today, it is my turn. For some of us, it might seem like we have come to the end of the world! For people of your age, however, any flight is an exciting prospect. But for me, this one was somewhat daunting! Yet the views afforded of our planet from the air were truly wondrous. The sparkle of the Mediterranean, the grandeur of the north African desert, the lushness of Asia’s forestation, the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, the horizon upon which the sun rose and set, and the majestic splendour of Australia’s natural beauty which I have been able to enjoy these last couple of days; these all evoke a profound sense of awe. It is as though one catches glimpses of the Genesis creation story - light and darkness, the sun and the moon, the waters, the earth, and living creatures; all of which are “good” in God’s eyes (cf. Gen 1:1 - 2:4). Immersed in such beauty, who could not echo the words of the Psalmist in praise of the Creator: “how majestic is your name in all the earth?” (Ps 8:1).

And there is more – something hardly perceivable from the sky – men and women, made in nothing less than God’s own image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26). At the heart of the marvel of creation are you and I, the human family “crowned with glory and honour” (Ps 8:5). How astounding! With the Psalmist we whisper: “what is man that you are mindful of him?” (Ps 8:4). And drawn into silence, into a spirit of thanksgiving, into the power of holiness, we ponder.

What do we discover? Perhaps reluctantly we come to acknowledge that there are also scars which mark the surface of our earth: erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world’s mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption. Some of you come from island nations whose very existence is threatened by rising water levels; others from nations suffering the effects of devastating drought. God’s wondrous creation is sometimes experienced as almost hostile to its stewards, even something dangerous. How can what is “good” appear so threatening?

And there is more. What of man, the apex of God’s creation? Every day we encounter the genius of human achievement. From advances in medical sciences and the wise application of technology, to the creativity reflected in the arts, the quality and enjoyment of people’s lives in many ways are steadily rising. Among yourselves there is a readiness to take up the plentiful opportunities offered to you. Some of you excel in studies, sport, music, or dance and drama, others of you have a keen sense of social justice and ethics, and many of you take up service and voluntary work. All of us, young and old, have those moments when the innate goodness of the human person - perhaps glimpsed in the gesture of a little child or an adult’s readiness to forgive - fills us with profound joy and gratitude.

Yet such moments do not last. So again, we ponder. And we discover that not only the natural but also the social environment – the habitat we fashion for ourselves – has its scars; wounds indicating that something is amiss. Here too, in our personal lives and in our communities, we can encounter a hostility, something dangerous; a poison which threatens to corrode what is good, reshape who we are, and distort the purpose for which we have been created. Examples abound, as you yourselves know. Among the more prevalent are alcohol and drug abuse, and the exaltation of violence and sexual degradation, often presented through television and the internet as entertainment. I ask myself, could anyone standing face to face with people who actually do suffer violence and sexual exploitation “explain” that these tragedies, portrayed in virtual form, are considered merely “entertainment”?

There is also something sinister which stems from the fact that freedom and tolerance are so often separated from truth. This is fuelled by the notion, widely held today, that there are no absolute truths to guide our lives. Relativism, by indiscriminately giving value to practically everything, has made “experience” all-important. Yet, experiences, detached from any consideration of what is good or true, can lead, not to genuine freedom, but to moral or intellectual confusion, to a lowering of standards, to a loss of self-respect, and even to despair.

Dear friends, life is not governed by chance; it is not random. Your very existence has been willed by God, blessed and given a purpose (cf. Gen 1:28)! Life is not just a succession of events or experiences, helpful though many of them are. It is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this – in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy. Do not be fooled by those who see you as just another consumer in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth.

Christ offers more! Indeed he offers everything! Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life. Thus the “way” which the Apostles brought to the ends of the earth is life in Christ. This is the life of the Church. And the entrance to this life, to the Christian way, is Baptism.

This evening I wish therefore to recall briefly something of our understanding of Baptism before tomorrow considering the Holy Spirit. On the day of your Baptism, God drew you into his holiness (cf. 2 Pet 1:4). You were adopted as a son or daughter of the Father. You were incorporated into Christ. You were made a dwelling place of his Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 6:19). Indeed, towards the conclusion of your Baptism, the priest turned to your parents and those gathered and, calling you by your name, said: “you have become a new creation” (Rite of Baptism, 99).

Dear friends, in your homes, schools and universities, in your places of work and recreation, remember that you are a new creation! As Christians you stand in this world knowing that God has a human face - Jesus Christ - the “way” who satisfies all human yearning, and the “life” to which we are called to bear witness, walking always in his light (cf. ibid., 100).

The task of witness is not easy. There are many today who claim that God should be left on the sidelines, and that religion and faith, while fine for individuals, should either be excluded from the public forum altogether or included only in the pursuit of limited pragmatic goals. This secularist vision seeks to explain human life and shape society with little or no reference to the Creator. It presents itself as neutral, impartial and inclusive of everyone. But in reality, like every ideology, secularism imposes a world-view. If God is irrelevant to public life, then society will be shaped in a godless image. When God is eclipsed, our ability to recognize the natural order, purpose, and the “good” begins to wane. What was ostensibly promoted as human ingenuity soon manifests itself as folly, greed and selfish exploitation. And so we have become more and more aware of our need for humility before the delicate complexity of God’s world.

But what of our social environment? Are we equally alert to the signs of turning our back on the moral structure with which God has endowed humanity (cf. 2007 World Day of Peace Message, 8)? Do we recognize that the innate dignity of every individual rests on his or her deepest identity - as image of the Creator - and therefore that human rights are universal, based on the natural law, and not something dependent upon negotiation or patronage, let alone compromise? And so we are led to reflect on what place the poor and the elderly, immigrants and the voiceless, have in our societies. How can it be that domestic violence torments so many mothers and children? How can it be that the most wondrous and sacred human space – the womb – has become a place of unutterable violence?

My dear friends, God’s creation is one and it is good. The concerns for non-violence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity. They cannot, however, be understood apart from a profound reflection upon the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death: a dignity conferred by God himself and thus inviolable. Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises. Our hearts and minds are yearning for a vision of life where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. This is the work of the Holy Spirit! This is the hope held out by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is to bear witness to this reality that you were created anew at Baptism and strengthened through the gifts of the Spirit at Confirmation. Let this be the message that you bring from Sydney to the world!

Gev is the man of the night...

Vote for Gev, Vote for Gev, Vote for Gev !!!!
My couple for the night is Gev and Chelsie. Their Contemporary routine was amazing. They did a really GREAT Jive. So Vote, Vote, Vote...

Katie and Will, the most technical couple of the night come in second for me tonight.
Did they rock your boat?

Now, if the Gods would only allow my to make my own fermented drinks!

It was a very good day. I was up all night programming two new rooms in my IMVU account, because my friend Hunter gifted me with a few thousand free credits, which was a really nice gift. I got a few hours of sleep and started my day as usual.

I met with my spiritual adviser this afternoon and we talked for over an hour about life and my work in the community and she gave me some sage wisdom and cautioned me as well. So I took her advice to heart and all was well. I come to find out that the Rev. Canon will be traveling to the UK to attend Lambeth because she is on a commission of female clergy that will be making a presentation at Lambeth.

I also encouraged her to extend an invitation to +Rev Gene Robinson to come back to Montreal to preach at the Cathedral again, she told me that she had made an invitation to him by email and was told that his schedule is really busy, but we hope that a face to face meeting with Bishop Robinson will change his mind and maybe he can find some time to come and see us again.

This years Outmass has been put on hold until we can secure Bishop Robinson to come and preach for us, the mass usually falls during Pride which is in 2 weeks here in Montreal. But because of the Bishop's busy schedule the Cathedral thought that they would hold off on the mass for a better date.

If you had a chance to go and listen to the sermon which I posted last night for you, Bishop Robinson touched on a number of points. In the church, our church, although some would like to think that we are up to some Gay Agenda, or homosexual truth, we are not. Like many of my Gay and Lesbian brothers and sisters, Jesus is what we think about, its what we talk about and it why we do what it is that we do.

The whole squabble over sexual orientation and the elevation of one man to the position to Bishop and his subsequent marriage to his partner is not all that important. Although some in the Anglican Communion would want you to think that way. Some priests and Bishops in the communion so staunchly hold to the seven deadly scriptures to bolster their argument about homosexuality. What is the real issue, that we are gay or that we are Christians? Or that God so loved us too that he sent his only son to be our savior? We were born of the same stardust that you were. God breathed life into us and He is the one who guides our days and nights, speaks the words that need to be spoken.

We should "Be Not Afraid..."

In his final words Bishop Robinson quotes the prophet Jeremiah and his calling by God. From the first chapter of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 1:4-10

The Call of Jeremiah

The word of the LORD came to me, saying,"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

"Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."

But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

We are no longer boys and girls. We can no longer afford to hide in the shadows and make excuses for the work that God has asked us to do. To speak the words that need to be said. Bishop Robinson said that each and every one of us knows someone who needs to hear a good word. We all know someone who can benefit from the words only we can speak to them because of our relationship with the people we know best. When we do not have the words to speak, God puts "into our spirits" that which we need.

We should tarry not the work of the Master gardener. So step out there and speak your truth to those who will hear it, share the message of peace and love with those who need it. Go out into the crowd and do good things. Acts 3:1-10

Peter Heals the Crippled Beggar

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

What if what we share with another has the miraculous spark to help someone walk, or to see, or to hear or to feel, what glorious feeling that would be to those of us who work in the field. Be peacemakers. Be Christ like minded people and go out and speak your truth to the world. We are all equals under God. No one is better than the other. We are all just journeymen and women. We follow the same god of our understanding when all is said and done.

As Sisiter Georgette is apt to say to me "Go, DO, Good Works."

"That reminds me of a time in early recovery, and I had spent all day long in a House of Bishop's Meeting and I was going off to an AA meeting, grateful that I was actually going to get to go someplace that they were going to talk about God."

+Gene Robinson

Listen to this Sermon: At The Gene Pool

ตีพิมพ์ครั้งแรกที่ http://bluewhaleguild.exteen.com/20080714/hellsing (บลูเวลกิลด์ดอปเอ็กซ์ทีนดอทคอม ทำไมพิมพ์แล้วมันเป็นงี้) บล็อกผมเอง เข้าไปแล้วทักทา่ยกันหน่อยก็ดีนะครับ

คุณศรีภรรยาถามว่า วลี

"The bird of Hermes is my name eating my wings to make me tame."

มาจากไหน พอดีผมใส่ไว้ในเอ็มเท่ๆ (เป็นวลีจากอนิเมะเรื่อง Hellsing) เลยลองไปค้นดูก็ปรากฏว่ามันมีที่มาครับ

มันมาจาก The Ripley Scrowle (Scroll) หมายเลข 3

Here is the last of the Red, and the beginning to put away the dead. The Elixir Vitae.

Take the father that Phoebus so high
That sit so high in majesty
With his beams that shines so bright
In all places wherever that he be
For he is father to all things
Maintainer of life to crop and root
And causeth nature for to spring
With the wife beginneth soothe
For he is salve to every sore
To bring about this prosperous work
Take good heed unto this lore
I say unto learned and unto clerk
And Homogenie is my name
Which God made with his own hand
And Magnesia is my dame
You shall verily understand.
Now I shall here begin
For to teach thee a ready way
Or else little shall thou win
Take good heed what I do say
Divide thou Phoebus in many parts
With his beams that be so bright
And this with nature him convert
The which is mirror of all light
This Phoebus hath full many a name
Which that is full hard to know
And but thou take the very same
The philosophers stone ye shall not know
Therefore I counsel ere ye begin
Know it well what it should be
And that is thick make it thin
For then it shall full well like thee
Now understand what I mean
And take good heed thereto
Our work else shall little be seen
And turn thee to much woe
As I have said this our lore
Many a name I wish he hath
Some behind and some before
As philosophers doth him give

In the sea without lees
Standeth the bird of Hermes
Eating his wings variable
And maketh himself yet full stable
When all his feathers be from him gone
He standeth still here as a stone
Here is now both white and red
And all so the stone to quicken the dead
All and some without fable
Both hard and soft and malleable
Understand now well and right
And thank you God of this sight

The bird of Hermes is my name eating my wings to make me tame.

ที่มา : ตัดตอนจาก http://www.levity.com/alchemy/rscroll.html
สรุปแล้วคือ ยาอายุวัฒนะ (Elixir) นั่นเอง!

แล้ว Ripley ล่ะเป็นใครกัน ผมก็ไปค้นในวิกิ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Ripley_(alchemist)

Sir George Ripley was a famous 15th century English alchemist, second only to Roger Bacon.

Ripley studied for twenty years in Italy where he became a great favourite of Pope Innocent VIII. He returned to England in the year of 1477 and wrote his famous work "The Compound of Alchymy; or, the Twelve Gates leading to the Discovery of the Philosopher's Stone", dedicated to King Edward IV and highly appreciated by him. His twenty-five volume work upon Alchemy, of which the Liber Duodecem Portarum was the most important, brought him considerable fame.

Being particularly rich, he gave the general public some cause to believe in his ability to change base metal into gold. For example, Fuller in his "Worthies of England" describes a reputable English gentleman who reported having seen a record in the island of Malta which stated that Ripley gave the enormous sum of one hundred thousand pounds sterling annually to the Knights of that island and of Rhodes to support their war against the Turks.

Ripley was at some time 'Canon of Bridlington'. He spent his elder years as an anchorite near Boston (Yorkshire).

เซอร์จอร์จ ริปลีย์เป็นนักเล่นแร่แปรธาตุชื่อดังในศตวรรษที่ 15 เป็นรองเพียงโรเจอร์ เบคอน
ริปลีย์ศึกษาในอิตาลีเป็นเวลา 20 ปี ที่นั่นเขาได้เป็นคนโปรดของโป๊ปอินโนเซนต์ที่ 8 เขาเดินทางกลับอังกฤษในปี 1477 และเขียนงานชื่อดังของเขา "The Compound of Alchymy" หรือประตูทั้งสิบสองที่นำไปสู่การค้นพบหินนักปราชญ์ ถวายแด่กษัตริย์เอ็ดเวิร์ดที่ 4 และพระองค์ก็พอพระทัยเป็นอันมาก ผลงานเกี่ยวกัีบการเล่นแร่แปรธาตุของเขาจำนวน 25 ชิ้น ซึ่งงานชิ้นสำคัญที่สุดคือ Liber Duodecem Portarum ทำให้เขามีชื่อเสียงโ่ด่งดังมาก

เมื่อได้เป็นมหาเศรษฐี เขาได้ทำให้ประชาชนเชื่อว่าเขาสามารถเปลี่ยนโลหะพื้นฐานให้เป็นทองได้ ตัวอย่างเช่นฟูลเลอร์ได้อธิบายใน "Worthies of England" ถึงสุภาพบุรุษชาวอังกฤษที่มีชื่อเสียงที่ได้เห็นรายงานจากเกาะมาลตาระบุว่า ริปลีย์มอบเงินปอนด์เสตอร์ลิงจำนวนหลายแสนให้กับอัศวินแห่งเกาะนั้น และชาวเกาะ Rhodes เพื่อช่วยรบในสงครามกับชาวเติร์ก

บางครั้งก็มีคนเรียกริปลีย์ว่า 'Canon of Bridlington' เขาใช้ชีวิตยามชราเยี่ยงฤาษีอยู่ใกล้บอสตัน (Yorkshire)

แก้ไขเมื่อ 14 ก.ค. 51 16:47:13

แก้ไขเมื่อ 14 ก.ค. 51 16:41:38

จากคุณ : Unregistered user   - [ 14 ก.ค. 51 16:39:27 ]

เรื่องคำแปลนี่ขอฮึดอีกหน่อยล่ะกันครับ แต่จะเพิ่มข้อสังเกตอีกอย่างว่า เทพแอร์มีสของกรีกนั้นคือ เทพเมอร์คิวรี่ของโรมัน

และเมอร์คิวรี่ ก็คือปรอท

การกินปีกของปักษาแห่งแอร์มีส หรือจะมีส่วนเกี่ยวข้องกับปรอท เพราะคนสมัยก่อนก็ใช้ปรอททำสิ่งต่างๆ มากมายทีเดียว

ยิ่งคิดยิ่งสนุกแฮะ จะมีใครมาสนุกกับผมบ้างเนี่ย

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คิดอีกที ลองแปลมั่วๆ ดู อย่าถือสานะครับ ภาษาโบราณแถมเป็นสัญลักษณ์ด้วย และยังเป็นบทที่สามด้วย

Here is the last of the Red, and the beginning to put away the dead. The Elixir Vitae.
นี่คือแดงแห่งสุดท้าย และจุดเริ่มต้นของการละทิ้งซึ่งความตาย
สูตรแห่งยาอายุวัฒนะ

In all places wherever that he be
เขานั้นอาจอยู่ได้ทุกแห่งหน
For he is father to all things
เขาเป็นบิดาของทุกสิ่ง
Maintainer of life to crop and root
ผู้ดำรงไว้ซึ่งชีวิตที่จะหยั่งรากและเก็บเกี่ยว
And causeth nature for to spring
และเป็นเหตุให้ธรรมชาติผลิใบ
With the wife beginneth soothe
ไปกับภรรยาที่เริ่มสงบลง
For he is salve to every sore
เขาเป็นยาบรรเทาความเจ็บปวดทุกอย่าง
To bring about this prosperous work
เพื่อนำพาความสำเร็จ
Take good heed unto this lore
นำพาเรื่องดีมาเป็นความรู้

I say unto learned and unto clerk
ข้าขอกล่าวสิ่งที่ได้เรียนรู้และบันทึกไว้
And Homogenie is my name
และ Homogenie (ความเหมือนกัน) คือนามข้า
Which God made with his own hand
พระเจ้าสร้างข้ามาด้วยพระหัตถ์แห่งพระองค์เอง
And Magnesia is my dame
และ Magnesia (ผงขาวขนิดหนึ่ง) คือภรรยาข้า
You shall verily understand.
ท่านจักต้องเข้าใจเป็นแน่แท้
Now I shall here begin
ข้าจะเริ่มต้น ณ บัดนี้

For to teach thee a ready way
ที่จะสอนพวกท่านสู่ทางที่พร้อมสรรพ
Or else little shall thou win
หรือเป็นทางสู่ชัยชนะ
Take good heed what I do say
จงตั้งใจฟังสิ่งดีที่ข้าจักกล่าว
Divide thou Phoebus in many parts
แบ่ง Phoebus (ชื่อเทพ Apollo ในภาษากรีก ในที่นี้น่าจะหมายถึงแสงอาทิตย์) เป็นหลายส่วน
With his beams that be so bright
ด้วยลำแสงแห่งท่านที่แสนสว่าง
And this with nature him convert
และด้วยธรรมชาติของท่านจะเปลี่ยนแปลง
The which is mirror of all light
สิ่งที่เป็นกระจกเงาส่องทุกสิ่ง
This Phoebus hath full many a name
Phoebus นี้มีนามมากมาย
Which that is full hard to know
ซึ่งยากยิ่งที่จะรู้
And but thou take the very same
แต่พวกท่านจะได้ในสิ่งที่เหมือนกัน
The philosophers stone ye shall not know
หินนักปราชญ์นั้นท่านยังไม่อาจจะรู้ได้
Therefore I counsel ere ye begin
ดังนั้นข้าจักขอให้ท่านพึงเริ่มต้น
Know it well what it should be
ทราบให้ดีว่ามันน่าจะเป็นอะไร
And that is thick make it thin
และสิ่งที่หนาก็ทำให้บาง
For then it shall full well like thee
แล้วจากนั้นมันจะเติมเต็มเฉกเช่นท่าน
Now understand what I mean
บัดนี้จงเข้าใจที่ข้าหมาย
And take good heed thereto
และจงจดจำเอาไว้ให้ดี
Our work else shall little be seen
ขั้นตอนต่อไปจะปรากฏขึ้นเล็กน้อย
And turn thee to much woe
และทำให้ท่านต้องเศร้ามาก
As I have said this our lore
ข้าได้กล่าวแล้วว่าความรู้นี้
Many a name I wish he hath
มีนามมากมายที่ข้าปรารถนาให้เขาเป็น
Some behind and some before
บ้างเกิดหลังและบ้างเกิดก่อน
As philosophers doth him give
ดังที่เขามอบให้หมู่นักปราชญ์

In the sea without lees
ในทะเลที่ไร้ก้น
Standeth the bird of Hermes
ยังมีปักษาแห่งแอร์มีส
Eating his wings variable
เสวยปีกที่ผันแปร
And maketh himself yet full stable
และทำให้ตัวเขามีเสถียรภาพ
When all his feathers be from him gone
และเมื่อขนทุกเส้นร่วงหล่นไป
He standeth still here as a stone
เขาจะยังอยู่ที่นี่ประดุจหิน
Here is now both white and red
และตอนนี้มีทั้งขาวและแดง
And all so the stone to quicken the dead
และหินจะมีชีวิตขึ้นทันใด
All and some without fable
ทั้งหมดนี้ใช่เรื่องโกหก
Both hard and soft and malleable
ทั้งแข็งและ่อ่อนทั้งเปลี่ยนแปลง
Understand now well and right
เข้าใจให้ถูกและดีเถิด
And thank you God of this sight
และขอบคุณพระเจ้าที่เล็งเห็น

The bird of Hermes is my name eating my wings to make me tame.
ปักษาแห่งแอร์เมสคือนามข้า เสวยปีกข้า ข้าจักยอม

จากคุณ : Unregistered user

หวาวๆ เคยสนใจสงสัยแต่ไม่ได้หาข้อมูล
ขอบคุณที่เอามาลง+แปลให้อ่านนะคะ
แต่ก็ยังงๆอยู่ดี ตกลงหมายถึงผู้เป็นอมตะ(อัลการ์ด)ใช่ไหมเนี่ย

จริงๆในเฮลซิ่งมีแฝงเรื่องอื่นๆไว้เยอะด้วยนะคะ

อย่าง Rip van Winkle (เจ้แว่นใช้ปืน)
มาจากวรรณกรรมอเมริกาที่พูดถึงนายพรานที่นอนหลับจนข้ามยุค
ดูๆแล้วไม่ได้เกี่ยวกับในเฮลซิ่งเลย
แต่กระสุนบินได้ของเจ้ก็เหมือนจะเอามาจากโอเปร่าเรื่องDer Freischütz

ส่วนเจ้าหนูชโรดิงเจอร์ ก็มาจาการทดลองแมวของชโรดิงเจอร์(Schrödinger's cat)
อันนี้สอดคล้องกับสกิลในการ์ตูนที่ว่า มีตัวตนอยู่หรือไม่มี ละมั้ง

#7

ความเข้าใจของผมคิดว่า The Ripley Scroll ก็คือ ตำราสร้างหินนักปราชญ์ครับ แต่บทที่สามที่มีวลีของอาร์คาร์ดคือการสร้างยาอายุวัฒนะ

ซึ่งผมสรุปบทกลอนเข้าใจเอาเอง (อย่างมั่วๆ ) มันไม่ใช่ยาที่จะยืดอายุคนเป็นหรอก หากแต่มันคือยาที่ใช้ฟื้นคืนชีพให้คนตาย

ซึ่งเท่ากับการสร้างซอมบี้ หรือการสร้างแวมไพร์

หรือการสร้าง ท่านอาร์คาร์ด นั่นเอง

เท่ากับว่า ตระกูลเฮลซิ่ง ทดลองจาก The Ripley Scroll เป็นผลสำเร็จ ยังให้เกิดอาร์คาร์ด

ทั้งหมดนี้มั่ว+เดาทั้งสิ้น

ปล. ถ้าคิดตามนี้ ตระกูล Helling จะเก่งน้อยกว่าพวกใน Full Metal Alchemist มาก เพราะนี่แค่บทที่สาม แต่พวกในนั้นอ่านจนจบหมดและสร้างหินนักปราชญ์ขึ้นมาได้แล้ว! แก้ไขเมื่อ 14 ก.ค. 51 23:47:03

จากคุณ : Unregistered user

จากคุณ : kowloon

Originally posted on: Walking with Integrity

Tonight the London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre featured the UK premier of For The Bible Tells Me So, “a provocative documentary about the chasm that separates gay life and Christianity today,” produced by Dan Karslake. It was followed by a conversation and Q&A with the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson and Sir Ian McKellen, Shakespearean actor and star of The Lord of the Rings.

The evening started with a beautiful bass voice giving the standard instructions for everyone to turn off their cell phones and pagers. Turns out it was Sir Ian, who arrived on stage a few minutes later.

He introduced the movie, saying he had seen it in Minneapolis when he was touring with Lear. He then retired to the audience to watch it. The full house was clearly engrossed in the film, laughing, applauding, sighing, and wiping away tears as it progressed. When it was finished, they applauded enthusiastically for well over a minute.

Sir Ian returned to the stage to introduce Bishop Robinson, comparing him to the “heroes” who helped overturn the ban on gays in the military in the UK. Then he introduced Bp. Robinson as “a man of hope, but so much more than, all the way from New Hampshire, all the way from Sodom and Gomorrah, but not all the way from the Lambeth Conference.”

Bp. Robinson entered to laughter and wild applause. He began by introducing producer Karslake and then introducing the audience “to the person who makes my life possible and the love of my life, my partner, Mark Andrew.”

Sir Ian began by asking why the bishop agreed to participate in this film – wasn’t taking care of his diocese enough without getting involved in something larger?

Bp. Robinson told how after all the death threats that followed his consecration, Karslake managed to get past all his security and appear in his office to tell him about his idea for the film. Karslake impressed him with his passion. But more than that, the bishop felt he could trust Karslake with his parents.

“As for the diocese, they are so wonderful – I love these people and they love me back. It’s been hard for people in my diocese to share me with the world. . . They hear about me sharing the stage with Sir Ian McKellan but the press is never there in the church basement with potluck with macaroni and cheese and the Jello molded salads, doing the things a bishop does on a day in, day out basis,” he said.

“I turn down a lot of offers. I tell them I have this day job. You know, my call was to ministry and my personal call has been to the marginalized, to those told for so long by the church, by the culture, by parents, by who knows that they are less worthy of God’s love. And my own life and experience, by God working in my life, I know what resurrection is about because not only have I seen it, I’ve lived it.”

He went on to talk lovingly about the people in his diocese, praising their Christian outreach to the world.

“You know, I say to people if you want to see what the church is going to be like after we stop obsessing about sex, come to New Hampshire. Oddly enough, ours may be the diocese out of the entire worldwide communion dealing the least with this. Everybody else seems to be having to work on this all the time and we’re just getting on with the Gospel,” he said.

Bp. Robinson said he thought one of the reasons the discussion in the Episcopal Church was getting so much attention was that all the mainline Protestant denominations in America are having to deal with the issue of full inclusion of GLBT people. They are watching very closely to see if the Episcopal Church splits apart, or starts hating each other, or pulls this off. They are waiting to see if “we are going to make a statement about the expansiveness of God’s love in a way that will bring people in,” he said.

“My sense is that we have a lot of people who have stopped hating us and they are happy to join us to work against hate crimes and so on, but they’re not ready to celebrate us either. These people in the vast movable middle are the people we can reach, the people that Dan made this film for, who want to be in the right place. . . but this Bible thing keeps hanging over them and the minute someone pulls scripture on them, they crumble. What I love about this film is I think it gives people a firm piece of ground to stand on to say, ‘No, actually I don’t think that’s what the Bible says.’

“It’s time for us to take back the Bible from people who have been using it as a bludgeon against some of the most vulnerable people in society.”

The audience responded with loud applause. Then Sir Ian called for questions from the audience.

The first question was from a man who said he understood that after excluding him from the Lambeth Conference, the archbishop of Canterbury sent a letter to the Diocese of New Hampshire asking him to donate $4000 to help support the Lambeth Conference. Bishop Robinson replied that that was not true – the request was for $7000.

The next question was asked by a transgender person who wanted to know what he thought was the origin of the neglect of the transgender community not only by society and the church, but also by the gay and lesbian community, some members of which “can hardly bear to use the T in LGBT.” The questioner related the story of a trans woman who was forced by security guards to use the men’s room where she was sexually abused.

Bp. Robinson said he could not speak to the situation in England, but he could talk about what he thought the situation is in America. He said, “This is big concern in the LGBT community in the United States and I think in some ways the gay and lesbian community has been insensitive and non-inclusive and needs to be called to account for that. I think there is work that needs to be done in the bisexual community and in the transgender community that for whatever reason we’ve done more work on in the gay and lesbian community, and that is for people to come out and really to tell their stories.

"Oddly enough, I would put bisexual people at the bottom of that list in America. We get more information and get exposed to more stories of real people in the transgender community than we do from bisexuals and I would say that most people in the church are more undone by bisexuality because they assume that means a person is by definition being promiscuous, having sexual relationships with people of both sexes at the same time. I guess what I would hope for both the bisexual and the transgender communities is that you continue telling your stories, because like this movie – it’s knowing people, having faces to put with the issues that has brought about this change. If people get to know us as people, then when we talk about the issue, a face comes up with the issue, and that irrevocably changes people.

“You’re absolutely right, we’ve got a long way to go -- even with the gay and lesbian community -- we have been careless with bisexual and transgender people and with their inclusion and with showing them the respect that should be there. We are on this remarkable journey and we’re living in this difficult transition time. It’s not up to me to ask, but I would both ask for your patience in teaching us and leading us and calling us to account, just the way you have done now. And you and others are in my prayers,” he said.

The next questioner asked about same sex couples adopting children. Bp. Robinson said that research – which is usually ignored – shows that there is only one difference in children raised by parents of opposite sexes and parents of the same sex, and that is that children of same sex partners are invariably more tolerant. He said his kids had four parents, three men and one woman. Both his daughters, unbeknownst to him, wrote their college entrance essays on what they had learned by having two gay dads.

An older gentleman then related his experience of sitting with his partner of many years behind the man who had heckled Bp. Robinson the previous night at St. Mary’s Putney. Prior to verbally attacking the bishop, the man said, he had vented his venom on this man’s partner. He said he and his partner had given up on the Anglican community for many years because they had been effectively ostracized and persecuted and excluded by the Anglican community in this country.

Bp. Robinson replied, “First of all, thank you for coming last night. Given your experience, that’s an act of faith in and of itself. What I say to people whose experience has been like yours is remember that God and the church are not the same thing. The church is our feeble attempt to discern God’s will and to live it out in our lives individually and in community. We get it wrong and history is full of times despicable times when the church has gotten it wrong. But God doesn’t ever get it wrong.

“Second of all, the church that many gay and lesbian people, bisexual and transgender people have left is not the church that’s there now. So I say to people go back and give it another try. Maybe the church you rightfully left because of abuse at the hands of religious people -- maybe that community isn’t what it used to be.”

He said that just because laws changed about racial discrimination doesn’t mean racism has gone away, nor have laws against discrimination against women ended sexism. He said there are two parts to the work. The first is getting the laws changed so that the system of heterosexism is not enforced by power. The other half is “changing people’s hearts, and like racism and sexism, homophobia will take a long time to disappear.”

He told of a sculpture at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis at the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King was shot. It is a relief showing a spiral of African Americans moving upward, and every one of them is standing on someone else’s shoulders. He said he is only where he is because he is standing on the shoulders of the gay men at the Stonewall Bar in New York who stood up against police harassment thirty or forty years ago, and of other gays and lesbians who stood up against injustice.

“There are people who will need or want to stand on yours and my shoulders, and there are things you can do to change your world and the world, and I think that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he said.

When asked by another man how he, Bp.Robinson, and the people of New Hampshire and people of good will could support the Archbishop of Canterbury as he tries to mend the communion in the face of those bent on splitting it, Bp. Robinson said that as a bishop, he benefits from the critiques of the people he serves, and that people can best help Archbishop Rowan Williams by offering loving critiques.

“I am coming to Lambeth Conference not to storm into the pulpit and rip the microphone from his hands or to protest in any way. I’m simply wanting to be there both to tell the story of God’s astounding work in my own life that enables me to be who I am, and to tell people that God is available and wants a relationship.

“I’m not willing to have them leave and not be reminded on a daily basis not just by my presence but by many people from around the Communion who are both faithfully and unabashedly Christian and unashamedly gay, and we’re going to be there to remind them that we are here too and we’re not going anywhere. They took vows to serve all their flock, not just some of their flock, so I made that witness in respectful critique in hopes that in their conversations they will remember that all of them, no matter what country they come from, no matter what the legal or religious stance about homosexuality is, we are members of their churches and they have vowed to serve us all. I pray for the archbishop of Canterbury every day,” he said.

He said it’s very odd for Americans to think about an established church, because we are so intent on separation of church and state. How can a state church go against laws that affect every other part of the state? He said it’s hard to get his head around that.

He said he is for separating the civil rights of LGBT people from the religious rites, that he believes a lot of religious people would support civil rights for them if they were separated from religion. He suggested that people might get married in a civil ceremony and then the religious people would go to church to have the union blessed, as people in France already do.

A man said that given that Archbishop Akinola was not going to change his views, and Archbishop Jensen was not, why would the Anglican Communion not benefit by splitting into different churches.

“The strongest argument that can be made for the Anglican Communion, and I make it all the time, is that we actually need each other. We need it for our own salvation, because if our brothers and sisters in Africa and Asia and other parts of the world aren’t there to tell us what we need to hear, those of us in the West and especially in America, we need to hear the ramifications of America’s waltzing around the world acting like a drunken cowboy, having our way, what we’ve done through colonialism, in terms of racism. We need to have a Communion so we can have those conversations."

He said American, British and Canadian bishops at Lambeth are going to hear what life is like in Mozambique, in Kenya and in other places.

“I long for those kinds of discussions. And you know, the world needs a model like that. Right? If we don’t figure out how to live together as the world gets smaller and smaller, even though we disagree about things, it’s not going to be pretty. And wouldn’t it be nice if the Anglican Communion could offer a model that the world might learn from?"

He went on to say, “You see in the movie deeply religious people who have a world view, don’t they? And that world view seems to explain pretty much everything that’s happening. And then they have an experience for which that world view is insufficient to explain. And in the film the families are caught between what they’ve been taught and love for their child. And then inevitably that throws one into chaos and confusion and anger and denial and all kinds of things. And at the end of that process comes hopefully a new worldview that takes into account that new experience.

“I think those of us in the Anglican Communion need one another to have that kind of transformational experience on a variety of topics, including this one. So let’s put it this way. I am not optimistic, but I am hopeful. Optimism seems to me to depend only upon what I’m able to do, and that’s not very trustworthy. Hope depends on what God is able to do.”

The last question was from a young woman who said there was a Christianity before there was a Bible. Could he imagine a Christianity without a Bible or is it integral to the faith as we perceive it now? He said he did not think he could imagine such a thing.

“The central tenet of Christian belief is that for a reason we can only imagine is self-giving love, God makes this astounding decision to reveal God’s self to us. For Christians, that happened in the person of Jesus Christ. And the most we know about that is in those sacred texts. Now what we do with those sacred texts is very important here. You know the four Gospels are not unlike four people who witnessed an accident and each noticed different things, remembered different things that the others didn’t. So we have to use our brains here. God doesn’t ask us to check our brains at the door. We are to use the intellect we have been given to make sensible and reasonable and right choices about those interpretations. So I can’t imagine out doing that without the Bible.

“Let me say this about the Bible, and this is something I’m ashamed to say I only grasped in the last year or so even though I must have read it a thousand times. In John’s Gospel, on the night before Jesus dies, he says this remarkable thing to his disciples. He says, there is much more that I will teach you that you cannot bear right now, so I will send the Holy Spirit who will lead you into all truth.

“I take from that that Jesus is saying I’ve done just about all I can do with you bunch of fishermen and workman but you know what, God isn’t finished with you and God’s self. That’s why I say I don’t worship a God that’s locked up in the scripture two thousand years ago. The God I know in my life is alive and well and interacting with us all the time. And I believe that Holy Spirit – God -- is leading us closer and closer to a better and better understanding of God’s truth. It’s not that God’s changing, but our ability to apprehend and comprehend God is changing. Thank goodness for that. Look how we used scripture to justify slavery or the subjugation of women and now LGBT people.

“I am hopeful that Spirit will lead us forward into an ever better picture of God’s truth.”

Originally found on: Walking with Integrity

It was a lovely evening, St. Mary's Church Putney was crammed full, the music was beautiful, and there he stood, all alone in front of the altar.

He bowed his head and said, "Lord, I feel like a boy."

It was a reference to the reading from Jeremiah 1.4-9, read by Susan Russell:

"Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
`Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.'
Then I said, `Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how
to speak, for I am only a boy.' But the Lord God said to me,
`Do not say, `I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to
whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I
command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with
you to deliver you, says the Lord.'
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched
my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
"Now I have put my words in your mouth.'"

As he spoke, the roar of cameras clicking and the strobe of camera flashes filled the sacred space as the still photographers of the secular press took advantage of the 90 seconds granted them to take photos of the bishop of New Hampshire doing this radical thing -- preaching in a church in England.

The people listening were not distracted by the flashes and the noise. They were focused on Gene Robinson. The reaction of many to his simple words, "Lord, I feel like a boy," was immediate and powerful. Some closed their eyes. Some wiped their eyes. Some bowed their heads. Several nodded.

After the photographers were escorted out, he continued."There is a lot of fear around. Have you noticed?" More nods.

He mentioned fears of terrorist attacks, fears of losing one's job, fears about the economy.

"Fear does terrible things" to people, he said.

Just about then, a heckler stood up in the second row and began shouting at the bishop, who stepped back, folded his hands and stood in silence. People near the man tried to silence him, and others began a steady clapping to drown him out. Then the choir started singing a hymn and the congregation joined in. By this time the man was being led -- fairly gently, but firmly -- out of the sanctuary.

Unknowingly, and certainly unintentionally, this man had provided a perfect illustration of the power of fear to cause people to do unloving things to the object of their fears -- to "the other."

After he was gone and the hymn ended, Bp. Robinson stepped forward again, and said, "Pray for that man." He was clearly shaken by the man's hate-filled face and his brutal words, but as he spoke of God's love overcoming fear, he quickly regained his equilibrium, going on with grace and humor to make his points.

"The opposite of love is not hate," he said, "but fear."

He observed that the idea that the Anglican Communion might split over two men loving one another or two women loving each other "must break God's heart."

He reminded the crowd that the words, "Fear not!" bookended Jesus' life -- they were the first words the Angel Gabriel said to Mary just before she agreed to be the God Bearer; it was what the angels said to the shepherds at his birth. After his death, it was the first words out of Jesus' mouth at every one of his post-Resurrection appearances. "Do not be afraid."

He talked about how people were fearful for the church, but reminded us that "the church is not ours to save or lose -- it is God's gift to us." He said it is time to get over our fear for the church and start being good stewards of this gift, so that it can become the church God wants.

"The Anglican Communion is going to be fine," he said, and repeated it.

It might be different, but also, he pointed out, all this discussion might be a sign that the church is up to something new. He said the Archbishop of Canterbury had "gotten it exactly right," by having the bishops at Lambeth deal with many of the important issues facing the world before they take up the issue of human sexuality, a plan that puts sexuality in some perspective.

Then he announced he was going to reveal the "homosexual agenda."

"It is Jesus. Certainly that is the agenda for this homosexual -- the Jesus I know in my life, who communicates God's unwavering love for me in my life and in my relationships," he said.

"I don't know what causes you to feel less than worthy, not worthy of God's love, but whatever it is, the God of all that is is willing to heal that," he said.

He told people of the revivals he attended while growing up in Kentucky, where, in the heat of the summer, they would listen to hours of preaching and singing and altar calls while fanning themselves with fans provided by the local funeral home. These fans were invariably adorned with a picture of a blond Jesus knocking at a heart-shaped door. When he was older, he did some research on that illustration, and realized that there was a knob on only one side of the door.

"Our God respects us so much that he waits for us to open the door," he said.

He went on to say that the church's discussion of homosexuality is interesting in what it reveals about people's idea of God. When the church treats women and gays like second class people it does not make people outside the church want to know more about God. Indeed, it does just the opposite.

He told a story first told by Archbishop Tutu's daughter about her mother-in-law. The family was upset because of one's son choice of a sweetheart. His parents were not pleased with about the woman and it was causing much uproar in the family. Then one night, her mother-in-law went to bed and prayed about it. The next day she told her family what God had made clear to her -- she had put herself on the wrong committee.

"I'm not on the selection committee," she said. "I'm on the welcome committee. It's my son's job to choose. It's my job to welcome the person he loves."

"We don't get to be on the selection committee," Bp. Robinson said. "God chooses. We get to welcome."

He reminded us that by virtue of our baptisms, we are brothers and sisters in Christ with all other Christians, whether or not we agree with them or like.

"Peter Akinola is my brother . . . and we will be in heaven together one day," he said. "And we'll get along, because God won't have it any other way. Our job is to love those God loves."

So, he said, "I'm going to Lambeth unafraid," and yes, from time to time he will feel like a boy, and yes, the job will feel overwhelming, "changing hearts one by one until we get to the kingdom.
But God wants us to be unafraid.

"God wants you to open up your hearts" to someone "you know who needs you to tell them how God has worked in your life.

"We're changing this church, getting closer to God's idea of church," he said. "Whatever it is that's holding you back from making that witness, get over it.'

He reminded the listeners of the story in Third Acts, about the lame man carried each day to the gate of the Temple, into which he was not allowed to go because the Temple leaders said his lameness was caused by sins of his parents or grandparents. But Peter cured him in the name of Jesus, and he got up and not only walked, but ran and leaped and danced his way into the Temple.

Too many of us, Bp.Robinson said, women and gays especially, have been told they can come to the gate but can't come all the way in.

"Listen to me. Whatever it is, God can heal you. Come dance your way inside."

God gave us the Church, he said. "How silly of God to trust us with it," but God has, and we are worthy of the task.

"The God of all that is, is with you. Do not be afraid."

As he ended his sermon, the almost entirely British congregation broke into loud applause. The sermon was followed by a Eucharist celebrated by Giles Fraser, vicar of St. Mary's Putney.

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer

LONDON - The first openly gay U.S. Episcopal bishop was barred from a once-a-decade Anglican meeting so he wouldn't become a focus of the global event.

Anglicans on all sides of the issue agree: The strategy has backfired.

New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson has been embraced by sympathetic Anglicans in England and Scotland who view his exclusion as an affront to their Christian beliefs.

Robinson plans several appearances on the outskirts of the Lambeth Conference to be what he called a "constant and friendly" reminder of gays in the church.

"I'm just not willing to let the bishops meet and pretend that we don't exist," Robinson said in an interview Sunday with The Associated Press before preaching at St. Mary's Church Putney. "They've taken vows to serve all the people in dioceses, not just certain ones."

The Anglican spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, did not include Robinson and a few other bishops in the conference as he tried to prevent a split in the world Anglican Communion.

The 77 million-member fellowship — the third-largest in the world behind Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians — has been on the brink of schism since Robinson was consecrated in 2003. The Episcopal Church is the Anglican body in the U.S.

Robinson and Episcopal leaders had tried for years to negotiate a role for the New Hampshire bishop at Lambeth, but were unsuccessful. He resolved to come to England anyway.

"I'm not storming the pulpit to wrestle the microphone from the archbishop," Robinson said. "My agenda is this: What does the church's treatment of gay and lesbian people say about God? You've got all these people talking about gays and lesbians being an abomination before God. Does that make you want to run out and go to an Anglican church and sing God's praises?"

Robinson preached Sunday at the 16th-century parish on the Thames River, despite a request from Williams that he not do so. A protester briefly interrupted the sermon, waving a motorcycle helmet and yelling "Repent!" and "Heretic!" before he was escorted out.

An emotional Robinson resumed preaching, asking parishioners to "pray for that man" and urging them repeatedly not to fear change in the church.

On Monday night, Robinson will join Sir Ian McKellan at a London literary festival for the British premiere of "For the Bible Tells Me So," a documentary about gay Christians that features Robinson.

Next Sunday, after the Lambeth Conference holds its opening worship in Canterbury Cathedral, Robinson will join Anglican gays and lesbians in a separate service nearby. He will then sit in the public exhibition hall near the assembly sessions to be available for conversation.

A group of Episcopal bishops have organized two private receptions where Anglicans from other parts of the world can meet him. When the conference ends Aug. 3, he heads to Scotland where he has been invited to preach at Anglican parishes.

Robinson was a target of death threats at his consecration and wore a bulletproof vest throughout the ceremony. He said the threats resumed a few months ago when he published a book about his religious views. He has arranged personal security in England, but said he could not disclose details. Donors are covering the cost for the extra protection, he said. His partner of two decades, Mark Andrew, is traveling with him but declined to be interviewed.

Bishop Martyn Minns, a former Episcopal priest who now leads a breakaway network of U.S. conservatives, said in a recent interview that although organizers of the Lambeth Conference intended to move the topic off Robinson, their plan was bound to fail.

"He will end up getting all the attention," Minns said.

Minns was also barred from Lambeth. He was consecrated by the conservative Anglican Church of Nigeria, which created the U.S. parish network despite an Anglican tradition of respecting the boundaries of other provinces.

For many theological conservatives, Robinson's consecration was the final straw in a long-running debate over how Anglicans should interpret Scripture. Last month in Jerusalem, traditionalists created a worldwide network of conservatives to separate from liberal Anglicans without fully breaking away from the communion. More than 200 conservative bishops are boycotting Lambeth because Episcopal leaders who consecrated Robinson will be there.

Robinson said he felt "pretty devastated" when he learned he would not be allowed to participate in the conference, a key meeting that affirms membership in the communion.

He said he was also worried that he would flub his appearances in England this month.

"I so want to be a good steward of this opportunity. I want to do God proud," he said. "I have this wonderful opportunity to bring hope to people who find the church a hopeless place."

Walking with Integrity Blog Site

The Guardian.Co.Uk

I believe in the living God. Now, that may not seem like a surprising statement for a bishop of the church to make - but as we approach the Lambeth conference of bishops, it may be a crucial belief to reaffirm.

The debate raging in the Anglican communion over the place of women and gays in the life and ministry of the church, and the name-calling about who does and does not accept the authority of scripture, belies a much deeper question: did God stop revealing God's self with the closing of the canon of scripture at the end of the first century, or has God continued to be self-revelatory through history, and right into the present?

My conservative brothers and sisters seem to argue that God revealed everything to us in scripture. Ever since, it has simply been our difficult but straightforward task to conform ourselves to God's will revealed there and to repent when we are unable or unwilling to do so.

For me, there is something static and lifeless in such a view of God. Could it be that even the Bible is too small a box in which to enclose God?

In my life, God seems infinitely more engaged with humankind than that, desiring a relationship with each one of us, continually attempting to lead us closer and closer to God's will. So too with the church. Isn't God - the living God - constantly making God's self and God's will more perfectly known to the church over time?

Jesus says a remarkable thing to his disciples at his last supper with them: "There is more that I would teach you, but you cannot bear it right now. So I will send the Holy Spirit who will lead you into all truth." Could it be that God revealed in Jesus Christ everything possible in a first-century Palestine setting to a ragtag band of fishermen and working men? Could it have been God's plan all along to reveal more and more of himself and his will as the church grew and matured?

God, of course, was not and is not changing - but our ability to apprehend and comprehend God's will for us is. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, the church was led to permit eating things proscribed by Leviticus, to oppose slavery (after centuries of using scripture to defend it), and to permit and bless remarriage after divorce (despite Jesus' calling it adultery).

And now, by the leading of that same Spirit, we are beginning to welcome those who have heretofore been marginalized or excluded altogether: people of colour, women, the physically challenged, and God's children who happen to be gay.

This is the God I know in my life - who loves me, interacts with me, teaches and summons me closer and closer to God's truth. This God is alive and well and active in the church - not locked up in scripture 2,000 years ago, having said everything that needed to be said, but rather still interacting with us, calling us to love one another as he loves us. It is the brilliance of Anglicanism that we first and foremost read scripture, and then interpret it in light of church tradition and human reason. No one of us alone can be trusted to such a process because, left to our own devices, we recast God's will in our own image. But in the community of the church, together we are able to discern God's will for us - and sometimes that may mean reinterpreting and even changing old understandings of things thought settled long ago.

In the midst of all the wrangling about who should be "in" and who should be "out", who is fit to lead and what relationships are worthy of blessing, can we find the grace to thank God for loving us enough to be engaged with us? Can we find the leading of the Holy Spirit - even into painful and, for the moment, divisive places - a blessing and not a curse? Can we discern God's hand in Anglicanism's current struggles? Can we rejoice that we worship not only a God of scripture and history, but a living God, who is leading us forward toward the truth at this very moment?

· The Rt Rev Gene Robinson is the Bishop of New Hampshire

Chris Thomas (CT Burners) - July 2008 Mixtape

Tracklist:

1. Streetlab - NY Sound
2. Supabeatz - Alchemy
3. Kraak & Smaak - Squeeze Me (Trevor Loveys Skeezer Pleezer Mix)
4. Awesome 3 - Don't Go (Dirty Freek Remix)
5. DJ DLG - Dimension
6. MeloManics - Get You (Juan Sanchez)
7. Fedde Le Grand & Funkerman - Pressure Booty
8. Sarah McLeod - White Horse (Bass Kleph Remix)
9. Karoshi Bros. - Love The World (Magic Johnson Vox Remix)
10. In Flagranti - Firmly Planted Memories
11. Gameboy Gamegirl - Sweaty Wet (Shirkhan Remix)
12. Round Table Knights - Hold Me Back (The Bulgarian Remix)
13. Surkin - White Night Two

I haven't had much to say these past few days. The boys haven't given up anything to write on as of late, or more to the point, my muse has taken a break. I loaded up the DVD player tonight and we watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Soon, in 19 days, Harry and I will be celebrating another birthday, what day is Harry's Birthday boys and girls? JULY 31st...

EXPELLIARMUS !!!!

It is hot and muggy tonight, there is rain in the forecast coming tomorrow. What else is going on? Not much to speak of. Let's stay on the subject of cute men shall we. Here is another photo for you to wonder about. This is reader play along now. Let's caption the following photo...

Come on now, I know you want to play along... Send us your captions and I will post the winner tomorrow. Where is he, What is he thinking? What is he doing there in his long coat? And is it familiar to you?

Random Thought Generator:

(977 The Alternative Music Channel): Pearl Jam, Jeremy's Spoken

Put on your Ipod/virtual DJ and spin the first song that comes up on the dial and tell me what the first memory comes from that song. Right now I am listening to Pearl Jam, "Jeremy's Spoken...." Many years ago in the midst of sickness and death, I was sitting in my apartment watching television I was holding a Pearl Jam CD in one hand and my Bible in the other, and the answer came loud and clear.

(977 the 80's Channel)

OMD, "If you leave" does everybody know this band. From the Pretty in Pink Soundtrack. Now there is a blast from the past. (1986) It was the year after I graduated from High School, I was in Junior College studying Psychology at Miami Dade Community College, before I applied to the Seminary that following Fall.

There were those, in that time, that thought that I would make a really good minister. So with the backing of the Parish, I set forth my application to the vocations department at the Diocese office and waited to hear from them. It wasn't long after that that I had my acceptance in the bag.

Heart... "Never..." (1985) The Year I graduated from High School.

Now, Vangelis, "Chariots of Fire..." The Motion Picture (1982)...

Def Leppard, (1983) "Photograph..."

I was a young drunk little boy, I was also a Def Leppard kind of high schooler, along with Ratt, The Scorpions and Van Halen. I used to have red light bulbs in my bedroom, and I owned a water bed. There were many nights when my friends and I would get BOMBED on cheap beer and drive around the neighborhood. I used to have black light posters on my closet doors and all those 1980's glitter lamps that were so common in those times. I had a great collection of lamps in my bedroom. I would get a good buzz going on and I would lay on my bed and sway to the music. All these memories coming to my brain, this is scary...

Van Halen, (1984) "Panama..."

It is a Saturday night and we are buzzed up a little bit and we are standing in front of the Miami Science Planetarium, waiting for the Van Halen Laser Light show to begin. This was a weekly event along with The Who. I can see the seats that used to move so you could see the entire ceiling with the red and green lasers and the photos on the side of the walls. Stars flashing all over the place...

"Reach down, between my legs, ease the seat back..."

Ok, I'm done reminiscing, until tomorrow babies...

So these updates are bound to get less Frequent and less detailed. I apologize in advance.

WoW news first ... I got my first Alchemist discovery off of my first batch of Shadow Protection Potions. I learned the recipe for Cauldrons of Shadow Protection but short of the one I made "Just for Funs" I'll probably never need it. It is basically a Black Temple recipe after all.

Last night I finished the solo campaign for Battlefield Bad Company, whilst I don't think it's a bad game I do think they really didn't try too hard. Look out for my review on Xbox Elite in the coming weeks - I will in all likelihood not be online by the time it gets posted.

This week also brought us two new videos on the Escapist, the latest (and poorest) Zero Punctuation review of Lego Indianna Jones and episode 5 of Unforgotten Realms. I apologize for not embedding them here, wordpress hates it when people try to do that, so you'll have to live with the links.

Short of that I have planned on a drinking night (for people to celebrate the fact I'm leaving) on the 26th of July (Thats a Saturday). There is a Facebook event, sign up to it if you please, but otherwise I'm sure i'll see absolutely no-one there :p

Regards,
JamesR.

Flameshock is Red, Frostshock is Blue, Being a Shaman - Makes me QQ.

Ninja Awesome Video after the jump, just click!