#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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