When the dog bites and the bee stings...

[Jamie123]

• The Book of Mormon
• Tallking with you guys about the Book of Mormon
• Talking with you guys about other things
• Writing e-mails about the Book of Mormon to a missionary who insisted on giving me her address a few months ago and I suspect has since regretted it. I sent her Zil's cockatrice (I hope you don't mind, Zil). I don't think she was very interested. I don't know why not. It was a nice cockatrice.
• ALF

• Microwaveable ready cooked meals from Sainsbury's - especially sweet and sour chicken
• The fact that the garage wall hasn't collapsed. (Yet.)
• Physics World
• Katherine (my friendly counsellor)
• Sleep
• The way the sun shines brightly in the clear blue sky on fall mornings. How the birch leaves turn slowly from green to yellow. The horse chestnuts and the spinning sycamore keys. (You'd call them "maple": acer pseudoplatanus. Not related to your sycamore, the platanus occidentalis - the American sycamore - though we have a similar tree, the platanus londonensis - the London Plane. I like them too. Especially the beautiful bark. So colourful.

Zil's Cockatrice (inserted for the benefit of anyone who's not seen it yet):

Edited October 24, 2023 by Jamie123
Added a picture of Zil's cockatrice. (And I can't spell "and")

[zil2]

38 minutes ago, Jamie123 said:

I sent her Zil's cockatrice (I hope you don't mind, Zil). I don't think she was very interested. I don't know why not. It was a nice cockatrice.

  Love it!  Some people have no sense of humor.  And if it's a young missionary, she may be one of those 20-somethings who are overly obsessed with their freshly minted "adulthood" and is trying hard to be "mature" or "serious".  Meanwhile, I've never quite managed to grow up (after more than 5 decades on the planet and losing both parents - they say that's when you really grow up, but apparently not).  I have decided that drawing lousy pictures of cockatrices with fountain pens is a perfectly valid activity for a "middle-aged" person.

43 minutes ago, Jamie123 said:

• The Book of Mormon
• Tallking with you guys about the Book of Mormon
• Talking with you guys about other things

44 minutes ago, Jamie123 said:

ALF

I find it hilarious that his home planet is the same as the cheap dishes I grew up eating off of.

[zil2]

Hmm.  @Jamie123, given the opening graphic, doesn't The Sound of Music or at least Julie Andrews (or her singing) need to go on your list? (Sure, I can't say what she was like in real life, but from an interview of her that I watched, she's possibly the most gracious person I've ever observed - which may say more about the people I hang out with, but still, I was impressed.  It made me think "finishing school" should still be a thing.)

[zil2]

OK, one of my favorite things - makes me smile every time:

 

[Jamie123]

2 minutes ago, zil2 said:

Hmm.  @Jamie123, given the opening graphic, doesn't The Sound of Music or at least Julie Andrews (or her singing) need to go on your list? (Sure, I can't say what she was like in real life, but from an interview of her that I watched, she's possibly the most gracious person I've ever observed - which may say more about the people I hang out with, but still, I was impressed.  It made me think "finishing school" should still be a thing.)

Ah - these are only "a few" of my favourite things. I think Julie Andrews makes the cut as well!

And Linda Lewis singing "The Moon and I"...

...from the movie Dick Deadeye. (Yes, yes...I know it's originally based on The Mikado...but I find Linda Lewis' lyrics much more uplifting than W.S. Gilbert's. Except the words "I do not want a saint" are a bit troubling: I think what she's really saying is she's not looking for perfection, but to be loved.)

[Jamie123]

20 minutes ago, zil2 said:

OK, one of my favorite things - makes me smile every time:

 

Total class! The kids had come a long way from "Doh, Ray, Mi" by that time!

[Vort]

2 hours ago, Jamie123 said:

• The way the sun shines brightly in the clear blue sky on fall mornings. How the birch leaves turn slowly from green to yellow. The horse chestnuts and the spinning sycamore keys. (You'd call them "maple": acer pseudoplatanus. Not related to your sycamore, the platanus occidentalis - the American sycamore - though we have a similar tree, the platanus londonensis - the London Plane. I like them too. Especially the beautiful bark. So colourful.

As you know, I live near Seattle in the Pacific Northwest of the US. I won't be living near Seattle a year from now, though I'll still be within a few hundred miles, still in the PNW. You should come visit this area some time. It is spectacularly beautiful. I don't know if I have ever been any place that I can say was hands-down more beautiful than right here.

We are famous for our conifers: Redwoods (not too many this far north, but they do exist; mostly they're found in the northern California area), Douglas firs (immense, fast-growing trees, not as tall as the largest redwoods but still magnificent and impressive, 150 feet tall and literally growing in our back yard), various spruces and pines, large and small. We also have some hardwoods, including the amazing bigleaf maple. It's a moderately large tree with the biggest maple leaves you will ever have seen, literally a foot across (I've seen even larger). Like all maples, they yield delicious sap that can be boiled down to syrup, but bigleaf maple sap is quite thin; you're better off using sugar maples such as grow in the northeast of the US, in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, that area.

We have spectacular mountains, too. Mount Rainier (pronounced ray-NEAR, though it should be pronounced RAIN-ee-er, given the local fall/winter/spring drizzle) is nothing short of magnificent, dominating the south-southeast horizon as far north as Seattle or even Everett. Mount St. Helens is further south, still in Washington state, and used to be considered by some as the most beautiful of the Cascade peaks. Some called it "the Mount Fuji of the Cascades", though not to be confused with Mount Fuji in Oregon, which is indeed part of the Cascades. That all ended on May 18, 1980, when St. Helens boorishly blew ash all over eastern Washington, northern Oregon, Idaho, Montana--the whole world, if we're being inclusive. It's less beautiful now but far more interesting, worth spending a day at hiking around and seeing the various sites of interest. I went back to St. Helen's not long after my mission, perhaps five or six years after the eruption, and it looked like a moonscape. Utter devastation. Ten years later, it looked like nature was reclaiming her land. Today, a casual glance would not even reveal that such devastation occurred in our lifetimes.

I'd love to host you for a visit. I'm sure I'm not the only one on this list who would.

[Jamie123]

13 minutes ago, Jamie123 said:

And Linda Lewis singing "The Moon and I"...

Quote

I wonder why the poets try
To liken love to heaven
When love on earth has so much worth
For those to whom is given

That in turn makes me think of Meat Loaf Heaven can Wait (He's found love in mortality, and doesn't need heaven. It can wait!

 

[Jamie123]

5 minutes ago, Vort said:

I'd love to host you for a visit. I'm sure I'm not the only one on this list who would.

Really? That means the world to me! I don't know when I could make it, but I'll hope to some day!

[Jamie123]

8 minutes ago, Jamie123 said:

That in turn makes me think of Meat Loaf Heaven can Wait (He's found love in mortality, and doesn't need heaven. It can wait!

I'd like to be able to invite you here too, but my living conditions at the moment are...well let's just say it's not a worthy home to invite guests to. But maybe some day...

[Traveler]

1 hour ago, Vort said:

As you know, I live near Seattle in the Pacific Northwest of the US. I won't be living near Seattle a year from now, though I'll still be within a few hundred miles, still in the PNW. You should come visit this area some time. It is spectacularly beautiful. I don't know if I have ever been any place that I can say was hands-down more beautiful than right here.

We are famous for our conifers: Redwoods (not too many this far north, but they do exist; mostly they're found in the northern California area), Douglas firs (immense, fast-growing trees, not as tall as the largest redwoods but still magnificent and impressive, 150 feet tall and literally growing in our back yard), various spruces and pines, large and small. We also have some hardwoods, including the amazing bigleaf maple. It's a moderately large tree with the biggest maple leaves you will ever have seen, literally a foot across (I've seen even larger). Like all maples, they yield delicious sap that can be boiled down to syrup, but bigleaf maple sap is quite thin; you're better off using sugar maples such as grow in the northeast of the US, in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, that area.

We have spectacular mountains, too. Mount Rainier (pronounced ray-NEAR, though it should be pronounced RAIN-ee-er, given the local fall/winter/spring drizzle) is nothing short of magnificent, dominating the south-southeast horizon as far north as Seattle or even Everett. Mount St. Helens is further south, still in Washington state, and used to be considered by some as the most beautiful of the Cascade peaks. Some called it "the Mount Fuji of the Cascades", though not to be confused with Mount Fuji in Oregon, which is indeed part of the Cascades. That all ended on May 18, 1980, when St. Helens boorishly blew ash all over eastern Washington, northern Oregon, Idaho, Montana--the whole world, if we're being inclusive. It's less beautiful now but far more interesting, worth spending a day at hiking around and seeing the various sites of interest. I went back to St. Helen's not long after my mission, perhaps five or six years after the eruption, and it looked like a moonscape. Utter devastation. Ten years later, it looked like nature was reclaiming her land. Today, a casual glance would not even reveal that such devastation occurred in our lifetimes.

I'd love to host you for a visit. I'm sure I'm not the only one on this list who would.

I must admit that I also love the Northwest.  It was mission (Washington, Oregon and Idaho).  I loved it so much I took the opportunity to work for Boeing – though my wife loves the sun and is affected by cloudy days which, for her, we moved to the desert.   We watched St. Hellen erupt from the front porch of our home.  You left out the ice caves and sailing on the Sound.

There are so many beautiful places on this 3rd orb from the sun.  The Highlands of Scotland, the cliffs of Ireland, fiords of Alaska and Sweden, the countryside of Russia near St Petersburg, the Golan Hights in Israel, Jungles of Mexico and the mountains of Guatemala and so may places in Utah and Wyoming near Yellowstone - let us not forget Asia and the amazing colors of insects there and very strange landscapes.

As much as I enjoy the beautiful landscapes of earth – I must say that of all the places I have visited what I enjoy the most is worshiping with the Saints.  Even when I cannot understand a word of their language – for me it is not just Sacrament meeting – it is being with Saints for Sunday school, priesthood or other ward or stake activities – especially meeting with elders and sisters and their youthful exuberance as they embrace strange cultures while serving missions.

Recently I attended church in Ireland and was talking to the bishopric.  They were concerned because since COVID many of the local members are not as dedicated to coming together.  They had just met with the area authority the week before and discussed this problem – they were told to continue, and members would start showing up.  We were there with about 6 other couples that we travel with (not all those we travel with are active or members – but the active members were with us).  We were perceived as a fulfillment of prophesy.

In a world so full of distrust and prejudice, I love meeting with the Saints and witnessing former enemies worshiping together.  I am impressed that even cultures of Saints that have in times past have been at war against my country and lost family members are so loving and open to my visiting.

 

The Traveler

[Jamie123]

"Mockingbird Hill" sung by Patti Page. That never fails to cheer me up:

And there's this delightful song sung by a delightful girl...

...which I think has become a hackneyed annoyance to LDS people - perhaps the equivalent of the poem Footprints to certain cynical types in my own tradition.

I'm uncool enough to like Footprints and "yah, boo and sucks" to anyone who calls me out for it.

 

[Vort]

I've enjoyed Emily Brown's interpretation of I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus since I first heard it. I have it on my Faves playlist.

[Jamie123]

https://youtu.be/1AJmKkU5POA?si=509M2spbwAtEHx-g

Michael Bubble* later married the blonde girl in that video and they now have 4 kids. She's Argentinian, though I wouldn't have said so looking at her.

Yes I know it's Buble - with an accent on the e - but I enjoy being perverse. If Michael doesn't like it he can come and punch me in the gob.

Edited December 9, 2023 by Jamie123

[Jamie123]

The Michael Bubble song made me think of this. Almost at the end of The Magic Flute when Papageno finally gets to be with his "Papagena" - his ideal woman for whom he has been searching the whole opera. He has met her already - firstly in disguise and then in her true form - at which point the priests chase her away because he is "not yet worthy of her". (He comically shouts at them "Don't interfere in my family affairs!")

I love The Magic Flute and Papageno is one of my favourite characters ever.

This is an English translation, but I like it as much as listening to the German while reading the subtitles. (I have studied German but made as little progress with it as I did with French. So if you tell me its been murdered in translation I believe you - but this is good enough for me!)

Edited December 18, 2023 by Jamie123