Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
"...Star differs from star in glory..."

(Vincent Van Gogh, "Starry Night over the Rhone," 1888)
I Corinthians 15:40-44:
"There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body."
I had a magnificent set of evenings over Memorial Day weekend sitting out among the moon and the stars--even sleeping out all night in my yard one night, it was so glorious--and seeing the lightning bugs begin their summer debut for the season. It was simply a magnificent weekend to be a speck in God's Universe. The sheer size and awesome timelessness of the "big" things in nature--the sky, the stars, the ocean, just to name a few--have always been the major spiritual grounding rods for me, my entire life. People just don't do it for me the way nature does.
I looked at the stars these last few nights and pondered the paradoxical dance that "people" seem to occupy in my existence, thinking how each star, in its own way, is its own "person." How like the stars in the sky, we are called to community, and how each of us in our own way feels called to individuals in that community. Yet for me, the paradox has always been nothing gets my goat like people sometimes. I can only handle people for so long, and then that secular monastic in me takes over and I retreat to my safe hermitage of my country life. There is my daily retreat from work, as well as "add on" forms like my occasional "silent Saturday morning," and my "stay-cation retreats where I never leave home." Yet I never feel "un-called" to be a part of a community. When I am home alone, after a certain amount of time enjoying my alone-ness, I think of what it is I am supposed to "do next" when I enter back into community. When I am in that community, after a while I start daydreaming of what I want to do next in my "alone time." Each needs the other, and truthfully, each feeds the other.
On one of those nights, I sat out and thought about different people with each star--what they were experiencing in their lives, and how it is that I am supposed to combine with them to light up the sky, yet maintain my own individual "star-ness." Each one of us with the incarnational light of God within us, but manifested in so many unique ways.
There seem to be at least three kinds of stars in my life experience. Most valued are the "stars I can always see"--for instance, in the winter, I can always find the constellation Orion, and in the summer I can always fix my gaze on Scorpio. They are like the people in my life who have now been my friends for three decades or more. How we relate to each other has changed drastically over the years--sometimes not even close to the roles in which our relationships started out--but we somehow can always adjust. Sometimes their light is very intense and intimate in my life, and vice versa; other times, the light is dimmer. But they are constants. They are appreciated for both their longevity and their versatility.
Then there are the stars that once were a major focus, but I now no longer pay much attention to. I really don't pay much attention to the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, or the North Star itself, per se. But there was a time I always looked for them. They are like the people who were once very involved and intimate in my life--old lovers, intense best friends, etc.--and somehow no longer figure much into the tapestry other than to be a thread once cherished, but no longer. Some of these fizzled out in a supernova of conflict, whereas others just sort of atrophied and slowly burned to extinction. Sometimes their light returns--but it is almost never of the same intensity that it once was, nor does my need to tend to that light return with the same intensity. I appreciate those stars for the history they have given me, even if it includes hard lessons.
Finally, there are the stars I just got around to noticing, like the time I first recognized all of Ursa Major, rather than just its "dipper." The first time I realized the dipper could be converted to a bear, it was an exciting time. It made the sky seem a little bigger than it used to be. I think about the gifts and talents in people I just now got around to appreciating in people who have been around me all along, or about the new people that come into my life over the years, and something about them challenge me to tend their light and let them tend mine. I appreciate those stars because they represent hope and promise.
Even the stars are perishable--which enhances my knowledge that people are perishable. It makes me understand the urgency of the Gospel of Mark, and in Paul's letters. If even stars are perishable, then people definitely are. Yet timelessness and infinity rides within all of them. What a beautiful, but messy, dance it all is!
Tribal Phoenix Tattoo Designs for girls | Designs Tattoo
Free Tribal Phoenix Tattoo DesignsSaturday, May 29, 2010
Imparare inglese, detti tradotti in italiano
E' inutile dirlo
It is necessary to book
Su prenotazione.
It is easy to reach.
E' facile da raggiungere.
It is not necessary to book
Non è richiesta la prenotazione
It is possible to visit the farm.
Possibilità di visitare l'azienda agricola.
It is necessary to book before...
Prenotazione obbligatoria entro il...
It is easy to fall in love with Rome.
E’ facile innamorarsi di Roma.
Nowadays it is home to the Municipal Library
Oggi è la sede della Biblioteca Comunale
It is very evocative.
E' di notevole suggestione.
It was sold to ...
E' stato ceduto alla ...
It is privately owned
Di proprietà privata
Currently, it is not open to the public.
Attualmente non è visitabile.
It is all about flavour,
Tutto è sapore.
It is very easy to activate the codes
Attivare i codici è molto semplice
It is advisable to consult the web or phone.
E' consigliabile consultare il sito web o telefonare.
It is not necessary to book snacks and/or tea.
Non è necessario prenotare per quanto riguarda spuntini e/o merende.
It is homage to Israel's 60 years.
È un omaggio ai 60 anni di Israele.
It is private property.
Proprietà privata.
It is also convenient to the nearby airport.
Grazie anche al comodo aeroporto vicino.
back tattoos for girls with japanese kenji designs | tattoo girls
tattoos care for girls | women tattoos
Use some common sense, if you need to apply more, do so. Apply around the tattoo too.. and BLEND that area.. ON the tattoo it needs to be cakey, but the powdery stuff will keep it in place. If it's not exactly the right color you can add some colored powder you already have to adjust.
I used this on a BLACK tattoo on my wrist for my friend's wedding and it was amazing.. if you look close you can see there is some different texture to the area, but in pictures it looked like there was no difference to the area at all. I had a ribbon type thing I made to wear at the reception in case it ended up fading, but it lasted.
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Friday, May 28, 2010
That Mysterious Critter called the Trinity

In that odd way that only people who have worked around a hospital can appreciate, I have found the fact that Trinity Sunday coinciding with Memorial Day Weekend (Or, as I like to call it, "Opening day of major trauma season,")--rather amusing.
I've got a confession. I find thinking about the Trinity too long, rather traumatic. My clergy Facebook friends find preaching about the Trinity on Trinity Sunday rather traumatic. Most of them refer in some way that it is a week where they feel compelled to teach those in the pews about the Trinity, and have to admit they really don't understand much about the Trinity.
Now, I can handle the diagram above. It's pretty straightforward and simple. I recognize God is in all three entities, and each of the three entities are not in each other--well...sorta. One person told me in a recent discussion, "I know I'm not my brother and I know I'm not my sister, but the family DNA is in all of us." That is kind of what the diagram parallels. I agree with all of that. But that's where it ends.
Here's my heresy...
I have this nagging feeling that the Trinity is a representational being--like the wave or particle theory of light. Although I would be the first to tell you that the Trinity and the statements in the Nicene Creed (well, except for that add-on about proceeding from the Father AND the Son--the Son half of the filioque was tacked on later to the Creed) are "true," I would tell you I think the reality lies behind the Trinity, and the Trinity is what we use to explain what is actually a single entity made of infinite parts.
For instance...
Light, in some ways, behaves like a wave. In other ways, it behaves like a particle. Odds on, it's something that is neither or both a wave or a particle. But we can function in our world, make great discoveries and inventions involving the spectrum of light, by acting like it is a wave when it's useful and convenient, and acting like it's a particle when it's useful and convenient. The fact that it probably is NOT exactly what we theorize it to be isn't relevant. We don't sit and bemoan that it's not "true." Truth is perception, more than anything.
But the fact that the Hebrew Bible has between 40 and 70 words (depending on which rabbi you consult) that describe one aspect of what Christians attribute to a function of the Holy Spirit, or God the Father, or the Messiah, makes me suspicious that the Trinity is to Christian thought what the wave or particle theory is to light--a representation we can wrap our brains around, at least to a basic degree, that allow us to be connected relationally to God, and not just function in that world, but imagine, invent, and share with others in community.
Did you ever notice humans, by and large, no matter what their culture, like "threes?" We like to think bad news comes in threes. We tend to use threes in literature, in our phraseology. Many things in science, if you repeat them three times, creates a greater than two standard deviations level of confidence, statistically. We tend to only start to "get" things after the third time we've experienced something. We say, "three's a charm." I used to think that was a function of Judeo-Christian culture, until I learned that many other religions--Hinduism, Buddhism, Paganism, ancient Celtic religion, ancient Norse religion, etc.--also have many examples of the significance of the number three.
My theory--and that's all it is--is that for some reason, humans brains are hard-wired to be ok with three. Maybe it is because it's simply one more than what we can grasp in our own two hands. It's manageable. So when the Trinity was being "figured out," people like the folks who came up with the Nicene Creed sat there pondering this God with infinite faces and forms, and gravitated to explaining it in an iconic representation that is the default human level of understanding--three.
So for me, the Trinity is simply a three-pronged representation of an infinite concept--and here is where some people are going to shove me into the Express Lane to Hell for saying this, but I'm going to say it anyway--the Trinity seems to me to be more of a functional theory than an actual fact. There is truth in it, but the truth actually lies BEHIND it, not IN it, and I am willing to accept the "model" because it allows me to function in my world of "understanding my relationship with God." To accept the Trinity as "truth" also means I must accept the mystery that it is a representation of a bigger reality that I cannot possibly understand.
It's why I don't trust anyone who claims he/she can "explain" the Trinity to me. I think part of accepting the truth of the Trinity is to also accept that my brain, in my living human form, cannot possibly understand it, but I can understand enough of it to function as one of God's children within the confines of what it represents. To say "I believe in the Trinity"--to say the Nicene Creed and mean what I say--means I believe the reality it represents is only fully fathomable in the next world.
I'll be honest--this is a hard realization for me. I like to think I'm smart enough to "figure most everything out." But to accept that I cannot possibly figure this one out, is to accept another part of my life as a child of God--faith. Faith that this representation can take me everywhere I need to go, to live in service to God--and in that, I believe.
Kanji Tattoos designs for girls | unlimited tattoo

Japan:Kanji Tattoo Symbols
Thursday, May 27, 2010
wrist tattoos for girls | designs tattoo
This is a cool tattoo owned by i'mcool said:it means a lot to me and i've wanted it for a long time now. i'm so happy that i've finally done it.
(this is for every person that plays an important role in my life.
and it is also to remind myself that when there is no one else there i have the strength within myself.....corny.....but true.)
And here are more tattoos on wrist.
wrist Tattoos for women
pictures of wrist tattoos .
Tattoos on wrist
Bodyart Swimsuit Model Bethany Dempsey Body Paintings 14 Photos
Read more »
extream tattoos for girls | tattoos girls
Cobra tattoo designs image@istockphoto.comDo you love snake tattoo?If you love the awesome snake tattoo, you must love the king cobra tattoo!Right.The cobra tattoo is really cool!Here are some cobra tattoo pictures for you.If you want to have a new tattoo, you may consider this if you want.But, before you do this tattoo, should know the meaning of cobra tattoos!
tribal Cobra tattoo designs
tribal Cobra tattoo image@deviantart.com _by_shwokeeshplat
What's the meaning of Cobra Tattoo ?The meaning of Cobra Tattoos:they embodied such women’s characteristics as mysteriousness, intuition and unpredictability. For men a cobra means power and wisdom, but it is also a sign of insidiousness, slyness and darkness. Such tattoo can mean protectiveness over the people whose initials are inked or it can be a tattoo made in loving memory of those who are gone that shows that the tattoo owner will never forget them.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Christian Cross Tattoos for girls | Tattoos for girls
Some cross tattoos show Jesus on the cross, while others show the cross, often with realistic wood graining, with a crown of thorns hung over one arm. Other cross tattoos consists of crossed nails such as big, rough looking nails like those that were used to hang Jesus on the cross.
Other popular Christian cross tattoo images include the Celtic cross (probably one of the most popular Christian tattoos of all), the Russian cross, and the Egyptian 'ankh', a cross with a circular shape on top, the ancient Egyptian symbol for 'life'.
Besides the cross, there are other Christian images that are often used in Christian cross tattoos. The fish symbol is a great illustration based on assorted biblical references, a stylized fish symbol is frequently used as a symbol of Christ. This is a compact, but quite prominent symbol that lends itself well to tattooing, especially in black.
However, there are also other tattoos that may be gang related such as the Hispanic Christian Cross Tattoos.
They are an interesting sub-group. If you know anything about their traditions, you won't be too surprised to learn that most Mexicans and other Hispanic people, even though they are involved in gangs or other criminal activities, are deeply religious and rely on their Christian symbols to both identify and protect them.
These Christian cross tattoos are rather complex, many involve a tattooed image of a saint, Jesus, or the Virgin Mary. Hispanic tattoos often have words, as well, usually a Bible verse, perhaps accompanied by a loved one's name. Many Mexican gang members have multiple sophisticated tattoos, allowing the individual to literally wear his identity and emotions on his skin, if not his sleeve!
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Tuesday, May 25, 2010
japanese tattoos design for girls | tattoos girl
They are regarded as a symbol of mischief, wisdom, good, evil, adventure and strength. The type of images that are chosen depends upon the personal choice of the person which several men choosing tattoo designs that are either red or green and several women choosing tattoo designs which are either blue, purple or pink in color. The colors are as important as the design of the dragon tattoos.
Commercial Sniping - In a few steps
This is my newest contribution for The Circuit Magazine to accompany part 3 of 3 articles on the history of sniping. After staying relatively loyal to the concept for the first 2 articles I got slightly more adventurous for this one, as you can see. Although the weapon is the British Army's L96A1 sniper rifle!
After playing around with a few poses I decided to keep as much relevance to the subject and article as possible (considering the lack of it in the character) I went with the traditional prone position but still wanted to emphasise the characters seductive curves, which brings the focus directly onto the buttocks!
Next I decided I wanted an exotic looking female and used photo reference of beautiful curvy women of Caribbean origin. and penciled out my idea and scanned it into photoshop at 600dpi before reducing it to 300 at the painting stage. Notice, I don't really go over board on the sketch and prefer to build it up as I progress through the painting stage.
Using the pen tool to create selections of anatomy and accessories I fill them all with the paint bucket tool and keep th
Using the selections I'd made earlier by keeping all opposing areas on separate layers I use a large, soft edged brush at a low opacity to first apply shadows and then highlights to pinpoint light direction and start to brin
I finish off the painting by adding a few layers of a deep bronzing, orangey colour to the flesh areas. I paint in shadows, foreground foliage, slightly alter the expression and finally add some highly effective camouflage paint to her skin. Now she's hot and ready for action.You might be Episcopalian (the sequel)

I was thinking just the other day, I had for some reason been getting a lot of hits on this old blog post, so maybe it was time to add to the list of obscure things that would say "You might be Episcopalian..."
You Might Be Episcopalian...
...if you know what Whitsunday is, and that the church paraments should be RED.
...if your Shrove Tuesday fundraiser in the undercroft features beer.
...if you visit someone else's church in March, see a vase of flowers behind the altar and think, "You don't do flowers in Lent!"
...if you have a very distinctly fixed set of songs in your head that qualify as "processional hymns," and you complain that anything outside that list causes you to remark, "That's not a processional hymn."
...if you've watched a podcast of a bishop being ordained, and raved about how cool it was.
...if you know what the sursum corda, the Sanctus, the Anaphora, and the Agnus Dei are.
...if you have a preference of Eucharistic Prayers A through D.
...if you know what The Book of Occasional Services is, as well as what EOW stands for.
...if you can point to the narthex, the nave, the sacristy, the chancel, and the undercroft.
...if you give directions of where to put things in church as "The Gospel side" and "the epistle side."
...if, when someone tells you they read the Bible every day, you respond with, "Oh, I do the Daily Office, too."
...if you've ever wondered why you kneel in Eucharistic Prayer B, when the line says, "worthy to stand before you."
...if you are absolutely certain that some parts of the Nicene Creed are "just not right," but say it anyway.
...if you have a strong personal theological opinion why the announcements are at the beginning, the middle, or the end of church--or not have announcements in church at all.
...if you've ever refered to a regular household activity as the "sacrament of," or the "liturgy of," such as "The Saturday Sacrament of the Laundry," or "The Liturgy of the Nap."
...if you know the names of at least ten bishops, and in which diocese they reside.
...if, in true "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon," fashion, you brag that you are three degrees from the Presiding Bishop...but when you get to thinking about it, all your Episcopalian friends are three degrees or fewer from her, too.
Chinese dragon tattoo for girls | tattoo for girls
The meaning of Chinese dragon tattooIn medieval Europe, the dragon was a bloodthirsty, fire-breathing figure. Its malevolence and ferociousness struck terror in all. But in Asia, the dragon is the contrary. The mighty dragon is a mythical beast long celebrated for its benevolence, intelligence and good will, which can protect us and give us good luck!
Monday, May 24, 2010
best tattoos parlor for girls | tattoos for girls

So the next time you ask yourself ‘how to tattoo?’ just follow the above techniques or search for the detailed process on the internet. But it is to be taken care of that no one should try to tattoo with out any professional guidance as it can be very dangerous. A little training from the professionals is necessary. The art of tattooing involves a good imagination and creativity. It is the talent of those who can think innovatively and come up with new ideas that can catch the attention of all. A tattoo needs to be striking to look at and endearing to one who supports it. The art of tattooing involves talent and is not a cup of tea for every body.
how to removal tattoo with laser...? | tattoo removal
The ink is destroyed into small fragments, which later on are carried away by the immune system of your own body. Usually it takes 3-10 treatments to get your tattoo completely removed.
The number of treatments depends the size, location, depth and color of your tattoo. Treatments should be 6-8 weeks apart. This is the time necessary to give your body enough time to remove the ink fragments. Each tattoo session takes 10-30 minutes.
3 different types of laser are used for tattoo removal. Which laser will be used depends on the color of ink and skin color of the patient. So if you have a colorful tattoo, it is wise to go to a center which has three types.
The three laser types are:
-The Q-swithed Ruby, this one is more effective on sky-blue and green tattoos. This kind of laser is hard to use on dark types of skin.
-The Q-switched Alexandrate, this one is used for removal of blue-black and green tattoos.
-The Q-switched Nd.YAG, this laser is partially advanced in removing red, black and blue ink.
Because this laser doesn't absorb melatonin from the skin it is more suited for people with a dark skin color.
New tattoos are harder to remove than old ones. Older tattoos contain less ink than new ones. The body absorbs some of the ink.
Turquoise colored tattoos are especially difficult to remove, because there is no laser that effectively can break down this color.
Tattoos which are red, white or flesh colored are also difficult to remove. These colors may turn black after laser treatment.
Laser tattoo removal can cause some discomfort. Most people describe it as a needle sting or the snapping of a rubber band against your skin. This feeling is caused by the pulses of the laser.
Usually 10-30 pulses of the laser are required in one treatment.
To minimize the pain ice and a local anesthetic cream can be put on the tattoo site.You can also take Tylenol a few hours before the procedure. Products like aspirin should be avoided as they have a tendency to bruising.
In rare cases the surgeon will inject a local anesthetic into the tattoo before the laser treatment.
Talk to the surgeon before the procedure about ways to minimize the pain if this is something you worry about.
After each laser treatment your skin will be red and feel like it has sunburn. There may also be some bruising. When your tattoo has red in it, there may also some blister. Usually the blisters will heal within 7 days.
After the procedure an antibiotic ointment and a sterile dressing will be placed on the tattoo. The feeling of sunburn usually goes away after a couple of hours. The skin needs time to heal. You should avoid that the treated area comes in contact with water for a few days. The tattoo will fade over the next few weeks.
Side effects of laser treatments are usually few. If you scar badly from sunburn, you will have a problem with this method of tattoo removal.
Other side effects which can occur are:
-Hyper pigmentation (the skin becomes darker)
-Hypo pigmentation (the skin becomes lighter)
-There is also a small chance of scaring and infection.
-Incomplete removal of tattoo and skin discoloration.
There have been a few cases known of people who have suffered an allergic reaction after laser treatments to tattoo removal. This was caused by the ink released from the tattoo.
Tattoo removal is by no means cheap. Each laser session will cost between $100 and $1000 per session. The price per session depends on how big your tattoo is and how colorful. On average you will need 3-10 sessions. The amount of sessions you need depends on the depth of the tattoo, the amount, the color and composition of the ink used and on the skin color.
So the total cost can vary from a couple of hundred dollars for a small superficial black tattoo to thousands of dollars for a large professional colorful tattoo






