A SPONTANEOUS RE-ENTRY INTO THE BLOGOSPHERE

I just love it when Safari remembers my user name and password for Blogger.com, or any other site for that matter. Having started this blog nearly four years ago, I must sometimes grapple for subject matter in order to maintain a semi-regular flow of input from my keyboard. Since I am running on fumes now, i.e., falling asleep, I must wind it up.

HEBREW PARALLELISM

Some notes from an online lecture series called, "Wisdom," by R.C. Sproul (Ligonier.org):

In the Wisdom literature of the Bible, particularly in the Book of Proverbs, Dr. Sproul explains three different types of a poetic device called parallelism, which the Hebrew language uses to describe and emphasize a point.

First, there is synonomous parallelism, where the author restates an idea or thought in similar terms. Example: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the skies proclaim the work of His hands." (Psalm 19:1) The second part of the verse restates or is synomous to the first.

Second, there is antithetical parallelism, where an idea is stated in the first part of a verse, and its exact opposite is stated immediately afterward. In Proverbs 10:1, we read: "A wise son makes his father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother." Contrasting wisdom with foolishness is a hallmark of Proverbs. Another one, 28:1, says, "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion."

Finally, there is synthetic parallelism, where an idea is built up to a "crescendo." Several cases are found, for example, in Proverbs 6. Dr. Sproul uses verses 16-19 in his lecture:

"There are six things which the LORD hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers."

So you see, Hebrew parallelism is a commonly used poetic device for emphasizing Biblical truth.

SAFARI SUCCESS

Well, intrepid readers, I have "stumbled upon" (to borrow a term from the web-browsing world) a keyboard shortcut in Safari's web browser (available here) which, I trust, will prove useful in all future web browsing. It was there all the time, but I have "rediscovered" it.

It is this: Ctrl+Click a hyperlink to open it in a new tab instead of a new window. I noticed on certain websites, hyperlinks open in a new window by default (in Safari, and perhaps other browsers, unless this preference is selected). Be sure to check the box "Ctrl-Click opens a link in a new tab" in the Tabs section of the Preferences section of the Edit menu in the title bar of Safari. 

I prefer using Safari, except when it doesn't work right. Then I use Internet Explorer or Firefox.

Of course, you can always right-click the link and select "Open Link in a New Tab" on the context menu, if you wish to keep your desktop uncluttered with superfluous windows. Happy surfing!

HERE WE BLOG AGAIN

Let me introduce you (that is, if you are not familiar with him yet) to Gary North. He is the man who gained notoriety for trumpeting the cause of preparation for Y2K. I admit, I was caught up slightly in the hype. But now, I am finding he is a fire-hydrant of useful information and resources at his (and our) disposal.

Well, the purpose of this blog post today is to point you to GaryNorth.com, a treasure chest of advice and resources for making sense (and money) in this uncertain and "unpredictable" economy.

When you have time, peruse this website for seemingly endless articles and practical advice, which you can access for free or with a membership.

Do what you can, and enjoy.

ONLY SEVEN DAYS UNTIL SUMMER

Today is the fourteenth day of June, which means we are one week away from officially starting the summer season. Well, here in the Salt River Valley, also known as the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix, AZ), we know summer is already in full swing. The temperature is supposed to be a hundred-and-something! It's hot.

Well, that doesn't deter me, or anyone at the helm of their computer terminal, from interacting with the digital universe. I am composing this blog post while listening to RC Sproul teach online at Ligonier.org. Very interesting.

THE GOLD STANDARD

Joe Battaglia, the host of  "The American Advisor" radio show, quoted the Wall Street Journal as saying, "Inflation is the thief of the thrifty middle class." In an article posted at Goldline.com, Mr. Battaglia says:

   "The worker is bearing the biggest brunt of the problems that are facing today's economy.  The Wall Street Journal comments on this fact by pointing out the actions taken by the Federal Reserve and treasury have served to create inflationary pressures, which  have been negative for middle income Americans.  As they said so eloquently, 'Inflation is  the thief of the thrifty middle class.' They further pointed out, 'In its attempt to help Wall Street and the financial system, Fed policy is punishing average Americans.'  These words ring true to every American who is struggling to make ends meet." (Goldline.com, May 7, 2008, Commentary) 

Mr. Battaglia, along with most sensible precious metals market analysts, advocates a return to the gold standard in this country, as do I. Inflation would be virtually non-existent.

WHAT'S IT WORTH?

Here I go again, plodding along with another blogpost to my credit and asking a rhetorical question: What is the point of posting these textual manifestations of my personality, if there are no recipients--or worse, if there are recipients who don't care enough to respond? 

I know that at least God and the enemy are reading my blog. I feel like Martin Luther in this regard. There is a devil, but "he is God's devil," a cosmic dog on a divine leash.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to visit YouTube.com to watch tornado footage...

Whoosh!

North Korean Stalinists

My God, after reading the horrific accounts of ultra-barbaric brutality by North Korean prison guards on their captives, many of whom did nothing more than act human, not criminal, I must blog about it.

I urge anyone reading this sentence to go to the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea's website. This report will, if not shock you, make you very angry that God does not drop these sub-animals into hell right now!!! Pig-In-Chief Kim Jong-Il should be the first one on the spit.

I'm sorry. God doesn't use spits, because that would imply that at some point you're "done." In hell, you're never done.

You can read a biography of "him" (it) at Wikipedia. Thank God we can publically call him out on his unspeakable crimes against humanity. How long, O Lord, must we endure this political black-hole that is North Korea? How long, O God, before You avenge your people? Come, Lord Jesus.

There are so many ills in this world. But the ill I am addressing in this post is one I am most concerned with. I know Iran, Iraq, China, and a host of other repressive regimes exist today in spite of our best human-rights rhetoric, political activism, diplomacy and engagement efforts. But please, God, satisfy our desire for vengeance and justice just this once.

Please?

Three Cheers For Senator Lieberman!!!

Hooray for Senator Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., for telling it like it is in his questioning of General David Petraeus and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.

Senator Lieberman aptly noted in his opening statement that there are those in our government leadership who, like the proverbial monkey, "see no success in Iraq, hear no success in Iraq, and will speak of no success in Iraq." In this simple statement, he summed up the willful ignorance by the hard-left liberals of the facts and conditions superbly laid out by Mssrs. Crocker and Petraeus in their testimony.

Bravo as well to General Petraeus' superlative responses to Senator Hillary Clinton's usual hot air-filled comments and questions designed to stir up confusion (divide-and-conquer tactic) about the real conditions and progress made in Iraq. My hat is off to, my prayers go up for, and my thankful heart goes out to the two men whom God has raised up for such a time as this.

LONG TIME, NO BLOG

This is the Blog About Nothing, so I'll be brief. It seems that it has been a long time (in blog years) since I posted any comments. Over three months is an eternity when you're dealing with New Media in the Information Age, where Everything is capitalized and Nothing is said.

But I digress. You want content. You got it. Content, content, content. Boy, that's the name of the game in the blogosphere, I tell ya. That's it right there. Without it, whaddya got? Nothin'. Big, fat ZERO. Nada. Zippity Doodah.

So far, I haven't typed ANYTHING worth reading. Yessiree. Intelligent political rhetoric at its cyber-finest. Get it right here...

Townhall.com

IS THIS THE BLOG "ABOUT NOTHING?"

Yes, it's another "boring" blog entry from.. yours truly. With nothing to say, I amaze and amuse myself with long-winded diatribes about NOTHING!!! One wonders, can a nobody have something to say? The answer is obvious: No!!!

I've just burned a whole paragraph of cyberspace real estate and I'm just getting started. Don't worry, I'm almost done.

Almost?

Let's try Verdana. It may be easier to read.

ARIAL FONT

With a title like that, how can you pass up a good read like this?

I've found it!!! I've found the right font for my blog: Arial "Largest" (not bold). You see, I've been searching high and low--not really, just up and down--for the right font and point-size for my new blog template. You like? I do. The search is over. Now all I have to do is italicize, underline, and embolden for emphasis.

Okay, I've decided to downsize to "Large." This might be a little more readable, in my opinion. Let's see...

If I embolden it, then what?

I actually prefer bold. But then what will I do if I want to emphasize something? I know. I'll...highlight it!!! Come on. I can't highlight everything like that, can I? Sure. Why not?

How about gray letter?

PLACE TITLE HERE

I've always preferred Arial font. I'll see how it looks published...

KNOWLEDGE WORK IS NEVER DONE

The definition of knowledge worker can be a nebulous one. I applaud the advent of personal computing and especially the Internet because they enable the average person to selectively educate and enlighten him- or herself. Of course, blogging can be an integral part of that process.

In this blog entry, we shall explore the intricacies, the ins and outs, of blogging and knowledge work. I do the latter and sometimes the former in my spare time because I have what most people call a "real" job. It takes a certain amount of attention and devotion to this task in order to produce anything worthy of someone else's perusal and pleasure.

Enjoyment is usually found with the "worker" rather than the observer. I say this because I generally work alone. That is, I am not in some office, hunting and pecking my way to a deadline. Instead, I am at home working at my own pace, saying what I want to whoever will read it.

This is freedom. Earlier today, I was studying online some books by Gary North and others on FreeBooks.com using his Deja Vu reader to view them. It was very enlightening, challenging to my views (however unformed they may be), and rewarding. I encourage anyone to go there (www.freebooks.com) if you feel the world is hopeless.

Well, dear reader, you and I have come to the end of another award-winning blog entry. I never know whether to call them "posts" or "entries," or for that matter, whether to use quotation marks or italics. In any event, BFN...;)

WHAT'S A BLOG FOR

Well now that I've changed templates, I just have to post another entry on my blog, mainly because I want to see how the changes look.

I know you're thinking, who cares?

I'm trying not to sound like Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye, which I read while in college. It was a very depressing read, one which I don't recommend unless you are researching good books for a bad day. After all, what's a blog for?

WHY BLOG

You know, the reason someone blogs is so that they can communicate with the outside world, using only their ten fingers and a PC. I say using ten fingers because that is exactly what I am trying to do--practice typing. It truly is a blessing to be able to do this, since I am the "they" of whom I speak.

Well, when in doubt, start a new paragraph.

NEW POST, NEW FONT

OKAY, THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOG.
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

Well, I think I have indeed found the font I want to use for this and future posts. The only problem is, for emphasis I will have to use some other creative method of highlighting text, since all of it will be in bold print!!!

See what I mean? In any event, this is my font, and I'm stickin' widdit.

AND THE BLOG GOES ON

Today, I am trying "large Times" font. How about bold? That's even better. Now I must come up with a title for today's post. Blogging must be fun--not boring or monotonous, repetitive, on and on and on...

There are a number of points I can make right now. But I will defer to my "better angels," as CH Spurgeon called them. I could call this blog Wannablog, because I only blog when I feel like it, about things I want to blog about, without any regularity or perceptible disciplined rigor.

For my next point, I will indicate that I am currently listening to William Lane Craig on his website, ReasonableFaith.org, which is a premier Christian apologetics resource. Wow! I found it while visiting Ravi Zacharias' website, RZIM.org.

And finally, go to either of these fine websites for an uncompromising defense of the historic Christian faith. You will be persuaded if not converted, and follow Christ all the way to Heaven.

WHAT? ANOTHER POST?

Well, dear readers and friends, it looks like another day in the blogosphere, and I'm sitting here pecking out another blogpost for your enjoyment and perusal. What, you say, another blogpost?

Before I go any further, let me just say that I am delighted to be able to sit here and plod my way through, hoping to find something profound to say while edifying both myself and you. How's that for selflishness turned on its head?

As I was saying, this entry is all about YOU.