Wishing everyone a blessed feast of Christ’s resurrection.

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.

—Luke 24:1-10

From The Paschal Troparion

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

From The Paschal Matins

This is the day of resurrection. Let us be illumined by the feast. Let us embrace each other. Let us call “Brothers” even those that hate us…

From The Paschal Sermon of St. John Chrysostom (ca. 347–407 AD):

…Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free. He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive. He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh. … It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and it encountered heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen. O Death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victory? Christ is risen, and thou art overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave…

Wishing everyone a very merry and blessed Christmas!

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them,

and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

—Luke 2:1-20

Dear Ask a Mark Trail Sunday Comic:

I have been married several years to an only child. Despite our objections, my mother-in-law, “Diana,” continues to treat my husband, “Rob,” as though he’s helpless and me as his equally incapable sidekick.

I should have realized there was trouble when Diana and other in-laws came to visit us on our honeymoon — unannounced and uninvited. When we go to a buffet restaurant, she prepares plates for him. She tells him what clothes to wear to events and even irons them for him. She includes our names on cards, gifts, flowers, etc., for which we’ve had no input or financial contribution. Anytime we mention going out of town, she attempts to invite her husband and herself to tag along.

Rob and I are responsible adults who work full time. We have never asked his parents for anything. I find her behavior insulting and intrusive. Even if I wanted to wait on my husband hand and foot, I’d have to beat my mother-in-law to it.

I have done everything I can think of to remedy this, from having Rob speak to her to being frank with her myself. Aside from saying hello when I answer the phone, I choose to have no relationship with her. Am I being overly sensitive, or is Diana overstepping her boundaries? — MARRIED TO AN ONLY CHILD

Dear Married to an Only Child:

When startled, wild animals often react instinctively, and the results may be very unpleasant. A mother grizzly is a notoriously uncharitable creature, especially toward careless hikers who suddenly round a turn in the trail and surprise her and her precious cubs. If you’re going hiking grizzly country, it is best to advertise your presence. Sing whistle, or talk loudly and hope the bear will move away instead of toward you.

Wishing everyone a blessed feast of Christ’s resurrection.

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.

—Luke 24:1-10

From The Paschal Troparion

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

From The Paschal Matins

This is the day of resurrection. Let us be illumined by the feast. Let us embrace each other. Let us call “Brothers” even those that hate us…

From The Paschal Sermon of St. John Chrysostom (ca. 347–407 AD):

…Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free. He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive. He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh. … It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and it encountered heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen. O Death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victory? Christ is risen, and thou art overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave…

I added a new recipe to my recipes section: Spicy rice with black beans and corn. This recipe came from an attempt to make a vegetarian dish out of whatever ingredients I had around the kitchen. Eventually I settled on this combination.

Orthodox Christians and others often abstain from animal products during the season of Lent, so this seemed like a good time to post this. In fact, I made it for dinner this evening (with some asparagus on the side).

This is a photomicrograph I had taken about eight or ten years ago when I was examining some sections of mouse arterioles. As it so happens, it was Valentine’s day when I took this, so I saved the image just because of the resemblance. Naturally, real blood vessels are round(ish) in cross-section, so the shape is obviously an artefact of fixing or sectioning. Nevertheless, I thought the coincidence was noteworthy.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

One time I had the occasion to write out the word “anenome.” Hmmm. The computer flags is as being misspelled. I guess it must not have been put in the database. I dutifully open “real” dictionary, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s spelled “anemone.” How could this be? Could I have been misspelling it all my life (and thus mispronouncing it, too)? I had a sense of cognitive dissonance. If I been wrong about this thing for so long, could there possibly be something else I might be wrong about (naahh)?

Later I came to realize there a few troublesome bugbear words I think look wrong when spelled correctly.

• poinsettia: (misspelled and mispronounced as “poinsetta”)
• frustrate: (misspelled and mispronounced as “fustrate”)
• dilemma: (for some reason I always want to put an “n” in there, as “dilemna”)

There have been some changes and changes to come in my life. On the plus side, a few months ago I started a job that really like, which was an extra plus considering I have been un- or under-employed for awhile. On the negative side, my wife of 28+ years has decided that things would be better if we were apart. It’s not a decision that I agree with, but it’s something that I will have to accept and adjust to during this new chapter in my life in the new year.

Since this is the time of year in which people seem to like to make resolutions, I will add a minor one, in that I hope to keep this site more active so that it does not look abandoned.

May their memory be eternal! I miss you, Mom and Dad.

I went for a walk in a local park not too far from my house (Heritage Park in Fishers, IN). I usually look around at the scenery when I go, and sometimes I think, “I wish I had a camera with me.” This time I actually took one, so here a few pictures that I thought were ok.

These (see image to the right; clicking on it will also load a larger version) were some mushrooms that were growing in the mulch alongside a path on the way. I’m not sure what kind they are. The one in the foreground is about three inches tall. There were others that I took pictures of, but they didn’t come out as good.

Along the path deeper in the wooded part of the park were some very large fungus (about the size of dinner plates) growing atop a fallen tree (see image at left). They had actually been there for a couple of weeks, and I meant to take a picture earlier. By now they are partially obscured by the vegetation growing nearby, but I was able to get some shots by crowding in close and sweeping some of the brush aside.

I also snapped some pictures of some vegetation patterns that I thought looked interesting:

  

The park abuts the White River, which flows through Indianapolis before making its way downstate before emptying into the Wabash River at the Indiana-Illinois border.