Shiggity shiggity schwaa.

Today, I learned that
An upside down lowercase
E is called a schwa.

Hypergrammarian Tendencies

Us r whoaz.

Yesterday after service Irene and I were discussing the ablative case outside the trailer (e.g. "pro bono" or "solā gratiā Dei") while spot-cleaning baby saliva.

Jerry, Rebecca, and I once pondered the correct use of "It is I," or "It's I," vs. the bastardized "It's me," and how "to be" verbs require the predicate. Jesus had it right, e.g. in Mt. 14:27 and probably has supremely godly grammar.

Isaiah, however... does not. Or does he?

I came across his wonderful "Woe is me" lament again this morning and sadly, yes, it bothered my brain. Ophelia says the same in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Apparently there's a book by Patricia O'Conner titled Woe Is I. And an angry hypergrammarian blogs about its in/correctness here.

In summary, some claim that "me" is in the dative, so the meaning is actually "Woe is (un)to me," though Safire thinks Shakespeare would just have written this if it's what he meant, or "Woe is mine" if poetic meter required three syllables. Purist predicate nominatarians in the "It's I" camp believe "Woe is I" is the gramatically pristine form.

For 400 years before Shakespeare, the written record shows people using woe is me, woe is us, woe is unto me, woe to them. It was ordinary English. If Shakespeare had written "Woe is I," we might want to examine his reasons, but "woe is me" requires no deep interpretation.

Please smack me if I ever say "Woe is I." And if I ever ROFL. Do people actually ROFL?

Why so... Comprehensive?

A fourth reason for Christianity's success is to be found in its inclusiveness. More than any of its competitors it attracted all races and classes ... Judaism never quite escaped from its racial bonds ... Christianity however gloried in its appeal to Jew and Gentile, Greek and barbarian. The philosophies never really won the allegiance of the masses ... they appealed primarily to the educated [the morally and socially cultured] ... Christianity, however ... drew the lowly and unlettered ... yet also developed a philosophy which commanded the respect of many of the learned ... Christianity, too, was for both sexes, whereas two of its main rivals were primarily for men. The Church welcomed both rich and poor. In contrast with it, the mystery cults were usually for people of means: initiation into them was expensive ... No other [religion] took in so many groups and strata of society ... The query must be raised of why this comprehensiveness came to be. It was not in Judaism. Why did it appear in Christianity?

-- K.S. Latourette, A History of the Expansion of Christianity.

Omnia Vanitas.

when (process.wantsToRun) {
retort(process, "Why so serious?");
kill(process);
}

asd;flkj.

Has It Really Been

"I can't believe it's been a year since last year!"

-- James Jih

Sums this month up pretty well.

I remember August 2007 as though it were hmm... The last thing I really remember.

The livid and fearful uncertainty, the company of godsends, the newness of trusting God who sent them... are still so raw and close.

Thank you.

Thank You.
You always know what it takes to keep me in need and in awe.

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm...

You always know what it takes.
And You always keep me.

Daniel 3

RBC's wordle creation.



Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.

-- Nebuchadnezzar

Another One

I often think about how much it would suck if my showerhead started spewing sewage.