The Sublime Roundabout

Welp. Here we are again. Another year. I'm glad this one is over - it's been a roller coaster. The interesting thing about roller coasters is that no matter how rough the ride, you always seem to make it back to the place you started. Of course, that's not entirely true, either. You're not the same for having been through the journey, even if you return to where you've started. And the original location has changed, too, however minutely. Life is a progression, and we're all headed somewhere - even when going in circles, or along roller coaster tracks. I've been writing this blog since 2008. My first post was in July 2008, and this post is number 945. There have been 714 comments on various posts. The most frequently viewed post is this one, posted in December 2009: http://billcobabe.blogspot.com/2009/12/christ-by-highest-heaven-adored-christ.html with 1272 visits, followed by this post from September 2009: http://billcobabe.blogspot.com/2009/09/tr...

The canyon country does not always inspire love. To many it appears barren, hostile, repellent - a fearsome, mostly waterless land of rock and heat, sand dunes and quicksand, cactus, thornbush, scorpion, rattlesnake, and agoraphobic distances. To those who see our land in that manner, the best reply is, yes, you are right, it is a dangerous and terrible place. Enter at your own risk. Carry water. Avoid the noon-day sun. Try to ignore the vultures. Pray frequently. - Edward Abbey, The Journey Home

When I was a kid, going to the mall was an adventure. Some of my earliest memories were of getting family/kids only photos taken at JC Penney. The department store seemed like an enormous and fancy place to shop, although due to my parents' relatively indigent circumstances, no actual shopping was done there. At least, not that I can remember. There were other stores that I can remember. My mother would collect green stamps for the Sprouse-Reitz. I remember shopping at the Alpha-Beta supermarkets with my dad. But none of these really could compare with the mall. I first became aware of the mall when I was in junior high. I didn't go very often, but the size of the place - the University Mall in Orem - was enormous. And they had everything one could want - from toy stores (Kaybee was where I bought my first chess set) to the video game arcade (hours spent in the Fun-uv-it) to the movie theater. It was awesome - a great place to be. I didn't realize at the time that it ...

I thought that if I were Funny enough Or witty Engaging Clever or cute Artistic Interesting Maybe you'd talk to me. I thought that if I were Valiant enough Brave and strong Tough Reserved Silent and calm Maybe you'd want to be near me. I thought that if I were Pure enough Clean and white Sparkling Soft-hearted Tender and meek Maybe you'd find me appealing. I thought that if I were Loving enough Kind and thoughtful Sweet Good Adoring and worshipful Maybe you'd love me, too. I am human and I Need to be loved. Maybe I'd better think it out again. Maybe I can find a way to touch You Your heart could be soft Like mine Maybe I hope so. Because I love you.

...like the way I do.

People work for many reasons. For most, it's a way to get money to do things one wants or needs. This would be the utilitarian point of view. The approach may include an ever-present need to increase one's salary in an effort to be able to do more. This is not a bad thing. Adults have responsibilities and obligations that are pressing and real. Add a few children into the mix, and you get very serious commitments of time and resources, in addition to the myriad joys and blessings of raising a family. Incidentally, I've heard it said before that one of the primary reasons why family sizes are smaller of late (as compared with our agrarian roots) is that children were viewed as extra helpers out on the farm, whereas now they're typically viewed as a financial liability. I think this may be a bit cynical and too-much focused on the fiscal aspects of the relationship, but there is a rational basis to that reasoning. Also, some adults simply don't wish to shoulder those ...

just for fun ... I hope your day is merry and bright.

A fire may burn bright Flames dancing merrily Above the logs And a fire may be terrible Burning all to destruction And a fire may be slow Like a candle, low and sweet But a fire always consumes And leaves naught but Smoke and ashes What We Need Is Here Geese appear high over us, pass, and the sky closes. Abandon, as in love or sleep, holds them to their way, clear in the ancient faith: what we need is here. And we pray, not for new earth or heaven, but to be quiet in heart, and in eye, clear. What we need is here. ~Wendell Berry

Here's an early Christmas gift for you, in case you hadn't heard this. It's worth the listen/watch. Please do. Really. Wait to see the comment at the end. I don't have much to add to this. It's just lovely and inspiring.

So it's been an interesting couple of months, energy-wise. If you've filled up in the past little bit, you've noticed a significant decrease in the amount you've had to pay. Short-term, this is probably a good thing - shucks, the extra cash helps around holiday time, anyway. Long-term, I'm not as convinced. I put 6 gallons in my wife's car the other day. It was less than $18.00. I had to do a double take - surely something was wrong... Nope. For just over $15.00, I'd put in half a tank of gas. It was a little surreal. Or a lot surreal. Of course, I remember in high school when gas was a dollar a gallon. I'd fill up at the Holiday on Center near the school and remember thinking how easy it was to fill up for a dollar a gallon. $20 would pretty much last me at least a week, if not more. So, what determines how oil is valued, anyway? In a word (or, in this case, an acronym) - OPEC. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. They don't co...

I woke this morning in the wee hours, my head throbbing in time with my pulse. It felt like someone had driven a rusty railroad spike through my left temple. I got up and took some meds, and then laid back down, feverish, while I waited for it to take hold. Sweating, I kicked the covers off and held my poor head. It was nausea-inducing pain, and the waves of it crashed over me like some kind of weird, sulfurous lava flow. And then I thought of you. Somehow, the very thought of you eased my pain. Your smile was like a cold compress, soothing and sweet and understanding. I could almost hear your sweet angel voice whispering in my ear, easing my pain, making it tolerable, and giving me rest. I could feel your care and concern for me, which was so indescribably lovely and good and right... And I was able to rest.  I am grateful. 

Once upon a time There was a man Who loved to go to the beach Not just any old beach But a perfect stretch of sand That seemed precisely suited To his every need He loved how the warmth Of the sun and the sand Eased the weariness from his soul How the sound of the surf seemed To be so peaceful and calming Even when the tempest raged He loved this stretch of beach Its varied faces and moods Always enticed and welcomed him The beach belonged not to him No beach belongs to a person But as he whiled the hours away He felt that it became a part of him And that he left a bit of his soul In the warm sand of the beach Until one day the man was told That he had to move on That the beach would no longer welcome him And that he had to move on So he set out in a kayak Alone on the vast and turbulent sea He would turn back from time to time And gaze at the beach he loved His heart breaking When he saw others enjoying what he'd known That peace and warmth That so...

This sounds familiar. Like, a lot. Okay, okay, I’m going to tell you what Hermione sees in Ron. A trio is a balancing act, right? They’re equalizers of each other. Harry’s like the action, Hermione’s the brains, Ron’s the heart. Hermione has been assassinated in these movies, and I mean that genuinely—by giving her every single positive character trait that Ron has, they have assassinated her character in the movies. She’s been harmed by being made to be less human, because everything good Ron has, she’s been given. So, for instance: “If you want to kill Harry, you’re going to have to kill me too”—RON, leg is broken, he’s in pain, gets up and stands in front of Harry and says this. Who gets that line in the movie? Hermione. “Fear of a name increases the fear of the thing itself.” Hermione doesn’t say Voldemort’s name until well into the books—that’s Dumbledore’s line. When does Hermione say it in the movies? Beginning of Movie 2. When the Devil’s Snare is curling itself around everyb...

I woke this morning to hear of a Taliban attack on a school. A school. Unbelievable. As in, it literally defies belief. And yet, it has become an all-too-common refrain. We hear all the time about attacks on innocents. I suppose the object is to terrify, to use tactics that are reprehensible in an effort to gain some sort of legitimacy. The logic fails me, but I'm not sure logic has anything to do with it. Such things are pure evil. In this Christmas season, we look for ways to share light and warmth. We look to the Savior as the Prince of Peace. We try to hear the herald angels sing of peace on earth and good will toward men. But there seems to be a distinct lack of peace, ranging from large-scale conflicts on a national scale, to the continued degradation of familial relations. We are taught that we have reason to rejoice, yet we live in a world that is so often steeped in violence and trouble... In that spirit, I offer the following: I don't know why God al...

A Christmas Carol I want to base this on Luke 2:19 - But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. I think sometimes We forget to think To pause in our lives And marvel We work and we play We struggle and grow All of which is important And all of which is right But I think sometimes We forget to think To pause in our lives And marvel Because life is miraculous And things move so fast The kaleidoscope of experience Flies on with the years And I think sometimes We forget to think To pause in our lives And marvel And I look for those moments Of peace and serenity When the curtain pulls back And I can feel the hand of the Infinite Yet I think sometimes We forget to think To pause in our lives And marvel Sweet mother, Mary Those thousands of years ago Set for us an example On the night her Child was born That we should think sometimes To not to forget to think We should pause in our lives And marvel To relish the hand of th...

Just read this article: http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20141210-danger-saint-malo-and-the-highest-tides-in-europe I spent the afternoon in this lovely northern French town. There are a couple of things that I need to clarify from the article. According to our guide, the people of St. Malo are citizens of St. Malo first, then of Brittany, and finally of France. While they are geographically in Brittany, they like to consider themselves apart from the rest of the mainland. This independent streak continues through the present day, stemming from a legacy of piracy and living in a walled-off island fortress. It is a gorgeous place, if a bit too new. It wants to feel old, but the buildings were largely bombed out during WWII. So you have this interesting juxtaposition of very old elements transposed against new. The stained glass in St. Vincent's, for example, was too new. It created the right color inside, but there was no artistry or craft to the experience - it felt ve...

Your feet touched my thoughts today Like footprints in the air Somewhere you walk along Seemingly unaware Your feet step lightly As you tread through my mind They trail steps of glory Like only Angels find And wherever they venture Your lovely, glorious feet They leave a peace, eternal They leave a calm so sweet I wish your feet forever more Would beside me tread That I may gaze upon them And not just in my head

I wonder why there are no shadows in dreams...

Amusing. Very amusing. The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes , The Colbert Report on Facebook , Video Archive

Pain blazed in Lews Therin, and he screamed, a scream that came from his depths, a scream he could not stop. Fire seared his marrow; acid rushed along his veins. He toppled backwards, crashing to the marble floor; his head struck the stone and rebounded. His heart pounded, trying to beat its way out of his chest, and every pulse gushed new flame through him. Helplessly he convulsed, thrashing, his skull a sphere of purest agony on the point of bursting. His hoarse screams reverberated through the palace. Slowly, ever so slowly, the pain receded. The outflowing seemed to take a thousand years and left him twitching weakly, sucking breath through a raw throat. Another thousand years seemed to pass before he could manage to heave himself over, muscles like jellyfish, and shakily push himself up on hands and knees. Robert Jordan - “The Eye of the World.” There is a worse pain. One that lingers through each day, persistent and ever-present, hollow and cold and empty. Extreme pain like ...

I finally watched Maleficent last weekend. I'd missed it when it was in theaters, and we were looking for something to watch this weekend. Redbox comes through again... I wept. Now, I know I'm a huge baby. My emotions are never far from the almost immediate surface. I'm not sure why that is - I've discussed it before. Watching this, though, somehow touched me. Firstly, Jolie's performance was incredible. INCREDIBLE. I'm not that familiar with her stuff, other than her face, which I'd seen on the news and things. She is very beautiful, to be sure. I don't know if the rest of her acting is like this, but I thought she really just nailed the part. I also didn't have any clue what the film would be about, other than that it was loosely based on the classic tale - Sleeping Beauty - which of course I'd seen/heard many times. So the twists and surprises in this film were very fun and entertaining. And moving. What spoke to me most of all, ho...

A formidable opponent, the woman who wore part of his soul in her hair. Robert Jordan - “New Spring.”

Back when I was young and attractive...

There are some things I just don't understand. Some things, although I know they exist, simply defy all attempts at logic or explanation. This is one of them. The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , The Daily Show on Facebook , Daily Show Video Archive I know that there are folks in the world who think they are superior to another because of their skin color. But it makes no sense to me. I also know that there are people who were brought up in a home where race was an issue. I'm fortunate enough to have been brought up in a home where it wasn't. Acknowledging someone's skin color for me is like noticing their eye color, hair color, or body shape/size. It's a physical characteristic, but it's not who that person is. So, I don't understand. I also acknowledge that we don't understand all of the different aspects to the various and way-too-plentiful cases where race plays a part in these kinds of things. We don't know the back...

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. - John Donne Make his fight on the hill in the early day Constant chill deep inside Shouting gun, on they run through the endless grey On they fight, for the right, yes but who's to say? For a hill men would kill why? They do not know Stiffened wounds test their pride Men of five, still alive through the raging glow Gone insane from this pain that they surely know  For whom the bell tolls Time marches on For whom the bell tolls Take a look to the sky just before you die It is the last time you will Blackened roar massive roar fills the crumbling sky Shattered goal fills hi...

I'm not sure how he comes up with this stuff, but I find it highly amusing: http://gingahninjah.tumblr.com/post/104162483644 Genius. Pure. Genius. 

This reminded me of someone: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/wedding-dress-1775-2014/ Wedding dresses have always fascinated me. Ever since I can remember, my mother made wedding dresses for women - usually friends or daughters of friends, and usually for not as much as she could have made. I remember streams of very beautiful and very excited ladies coming to our home for fittings. I also remember my mother speaking about how fussy these ladies were... It occurs to me that a wedding is one of the few lasting formal occasions we have in our culture. A wedding dress, be it elaborate or simple, is a symbol of a person's purity, of the dignity of the occasion, and of the respect and importance one ascribes to the act of marrying another. Everyone has a dream about their wedding day, and everyone wants to look and feel important on this most important of days. So when a person crafts a dress for a bride, this person is becoming a part of the history of, well, history. ...