#1674: Part 4 of On the Soul and the Resurrection by St. Gregory of Nyssa

On the Soul and the Resurrection continues the dialogue between St. Macrina and her brother St. Gregory of Nyssa. In this installment, we have some kinda iffy Greek ideas about atoms, emotions, and the soul, but there’s a strong ending.

Part 4.

21:12.

Btw, it turns out that icons of St. Macrina the Younger (ie, this one, not her grandmother the martyr) often depict her in the seat of a teacher/philosopher, or bearing a scroll.

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Feeling Better

As you can tell, I’m feeling a lot better. Still a little scratchy, but nothing compared to before.

Thanks for the ginger advice. I was drinking a lot of lemon ginger tea along with chai and slippery elm stuff. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to the grocery to get whole ginger until after I was already better, but I’ll bear that in mind for next time. (And I’ll be sure to tell the folks in choir. Singers are constantly looking for a better home remedy for throat troubles. It’d be nice to have one that’s actually palatable!)

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#1673: Part 1 of “Medal of Honor” by Mack Reynolds

“Medal of Honor” is an interesting story. I’m afraid that the first part is rather short, but it seemed a logical stopping point. (And I’m still babying my voice.)

Mack Reynolds was an extremely prolific author who was very popular back in the fifties, sixties and early seventies. (He apparently was a member of the Socialist Labor Party, which surprises me. I always thought he was an early libertarian or something. Well, I’m no pundit.) Anyway, he always struck me as a very Western-ornery sort of writer, and he wrote a lot of military and political sf. It was fairly obvious that he loved throwing what-ifs into the speculation blender. Today he’s almost totally forgotten by younger sf readers, except for his 1968 Star Trek kids’ novel, which was recently reprinted at John Ordover’s behest. (A very nice behest.) I don’t think any of his books were precisely great, but they were all pretty good reads.

Part 1.

13:34.

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#1673: Ch. 15, The Brand of Silence by Johnston McCulley

The Brand of Silence continues, as Central Park proves dangerous in broad daylight for innocent passersby. Aeh, it’s New York.

Ch. 15: A Moment of Violence.

13:29.

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#1672: Ch. 19, Bk. 3, An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales

An Introduction to the Devout Life continues, as our friendly neighborhood bishop quietly and cheerfully defends the value of real friendships to people living in the workaday world.

Book 3, Chapter 19: On True Friendships.

7:36.

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#1671: Ch. 18, Bk. 3, An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales

An Introduction to the Devout Life continues, as our friendly neighborhood bishop points out that you shouldn’t play with people’s hearts or waste their valuable time, and comments unfavorably about the wisdom of courtly love as a party game. It sounds like he had to do a lot of patching up of broken hearts in his day….

Book 3, Chapter 18: On Flirtations.

10:02.

UPDATE: Link fixed. Thanks.

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Still Hoarse

Sorry, folks. I know it’s been a while, but I still don’t have much voice. I did actually make it to choir today, but I think I overdid it a little… and now my throat feels cruddy again. (And it’s been very damp and hence moldy outside, which is the other part of the equation.) The other woman at work who got hoarse before me — well, she got her voice back and then TOTALLY LOST IT on Friday. So really, it could be worse.

I think that if I get a good night’s sleep tonight, I will be able to do something tomorrow morning for you. So please be patient with my poor vocal folds!

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Still with the Laryngitis

I’m still hoarse. Lots better than last Friday, but still not comfortable with narrating for even ten minutes.

I apologize for the inconvenience, and will try to get well as soon as possible. Let’s aim for next week.

In the meantime, please feel free to explore the last four years of podcasts and audiobooks.

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Taking a Throat Break

MORNING UPDATE: Laryngitis. No more posting this week.

PREVIOUSLY: Yes, my sinuses and allergies are bothering me again all this week, I haven’t been sleeping well, and there’s some sort of tickle in my throat and bronchial tubes that’s making me cough. I’m pretty sure it’s just sinus drippage, but I’m going to make an early night of it and not strain my throat.

I apologize for all the inconvenience.

However, since this is St. Robert Bellarmine’s Day, you might like to download a couple of his works that I’ve read (in English translation): his version of the Seven Last Words of Christ, and The Art of Dying Well.

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#1670: Part 3 of On the Soul and the Resurrection by St. Gregory of Nyssa

On the Soul and the Resurrection continues, as St. Macrina talks on her deathbed about Greco-Roman automata. Yep, it’s steampunk patristics!

Part 3.

17:49.

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#1669: Ch. 17, An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales

An Introduction to the Devout Life continues, with some thoughts on friendship, and picking your friends wisely.

Book 3, Chapter 17: On friendship; first, on bad and frivolous friendships..

4:56.

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#1668: Ch. 16, An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales

An Introduction to the Devout Life continues, with a few words on how to derive spiritual growth from being broke.

Book 3, Chapter 16: On the practice of spiritual riches amidst real poverty.

4:56.

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#1667: Bk. 11A, The Ring and the Book by Robert Browning

The Ring and the Book continues, as Guido receives the news of his sentencing. He’s mighty peeved to find out that killing your wife, your kid, and her family is an act with consequences, and that those consequences apply to him.

Book 11A.

11:09.

Sorry this has been so sporadic. It takes a lot out of me, for some reason.

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#1666: “Shipwreck in the Sky” by Eando Binder

“Shipwreck in the Sky” is a fun little near-future story of a pioneering Air Force space test pilot. Originally published in March 1954 in Fantastic Universe, you’ll find that it did a pretty good job of predicting how space would be. But then, it throws in a little twist…. 🙂

I’m not sure Binder captures the military on a mission/flight control mindset quite as well as he could have (unless you imagine the Colonel as being actually extremely stoic in his replies, in which case it does make sense). I’m afraid I didn’t quite capture the pilot voice correctly, though, so we’re even. (Maybe I need to rewatch The Right Stuff, to get in touch with my inner Chuck Yeager.)

“Shipwreck in the Sky”

22:56.

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#1665: Part 2 of On the Soul and the Resurrection by St. Gregory of Nyssa

On the Soul and the Resurrection continues, as St. Macrina starts arguing with Mr. Dawkins. Er, her brother, rehearsing the arguments of a Roman materialist or atheist.

Part 2.

21:56.

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