There are no words that can console a loss… NONE. Don’t offer them… offer yourself, instead. If you’re hip to reality, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you’re not… you can’t even conceive of it. Take note of who gave their service and those who refused to give such. Use that as a standard to judge their words and actions.
The world isn’t simple…
BMD
1983
He STILL owns the House!
One of the Cabinet shared this with me:
We all have our preferred corners, but we must remember that we’re still in the house with others. Moreover, we DON’T own thе house!
Indeed… one must be leery of those who draw the boundaries of the Church too narrowly. It’s NOT our House… its Christ’s House. He’s the Master of the Manse… He decides who’s in and who’s out. Most definitely, He doesn’t exclude people on “political” grounds. That’s why we must oppose creepos like Paffso and Reardon with all our powers. They DO exclude people if they don’t parrot their oddbod rightwing shibboleths, and, sad to say, it’s all too prevalent amongst konvertsy in general.
I’m tired of people picking on Mark Stokoe… yes, he’s a complete and utter twit; he thinks much too highly of himself… but he’s an Orthodox Christian. Vladyki Job threw his mantle of protection over him, and that’s that. The ignoranuses who attack Mark for being gay don’t have a clue what the Real Church teaches… the Real Church doesn’t excommunicate homosexuals… it merely says that active homosexuality is a sin… a sin not as serious as adultery… or simony… or greed (according to Scripture, the Mother of All Sins). In fact, I’d observe that most konvertsy are puffed up with Pride… and that one makes homosexuality look downright innocuous.
I say that there’s room in Christ’s Church for all sorts of people… we shouldn’t tut-tut if a bishop offers the oikonomia of the Church to this one or that one. After all, the konvertsy who attack oikonomia are all fans of Dmitri Royster and Seraphim Storheim… methinks that their “gaydar” is FUBAR.
We DON’T own the house! (Hat-tip to the Cabineteer who sent me that one!)
BMD
On Saturday, Nicky and I took a lovely little motor up to Bennington VT. We were on the hunt for Crazy Russian Girls Bakery, which we’d read about on RIA-Novosti. Nicky had a feeling that he “knew” where it was, and with his sensitive “bear’s nose”, he did. If you’re unfamiliar with the area, it’s near the intersection of Route 7 and Main Street, where there’s a traffic signal (downtown Bennington isn’t very large, so it’s hard to get “lost”). Before I start talking, click here for a review of the place, it’ll set the scene for what I’m going to say.
Read the link!
Finished? Good! If not, bad dog! Go to gaol… go DIRECTLY to gaol! Do not pass go; do not collect 200 dollars! Firstly, let’s state what CRG is NOT. That clears away all misunderstanding, so that one can appreciate a place for what it is, truly. CRG is NOT a full-service restaurant… or a café/bistro… or a diner (by the way, there’s a good one in town, the Blue Benn)… or a fast-food emporium. CRG is NOT Russian… or ETHNIC… or “exotic”. CRG IS a from-scratch neighbourhood bakery with four booths attached where folks can sit down and eat. It DOES have a small (but serviceable) menu of soups and sandwiches, priced reasonably for the area… 2 sandwiches, 2 coffees, 2 cups of soup, and a piece of cheesecake cost us a tad under 25 USD (820 Roubles. 26.25 CAD. 26.75 AUD. 18.75 Euros. 15.75 UK Pounds), which is par for the course for a specialty eatery (it ain’t Mickey Dee’s… even there, lunch for two will run about 12-15 bucks (400-500 Roubles. 12.50-15.75 CAD. 13-16 AUD. 9-11.25 Euros. 7.50-9.50 UK Pounds)).
1893
It’s baba’s way… or no way at all!
Now, for the food. I found the Mushroom Soup good, with plenty of mushrooms (chopped finely, but evident) in every spoonful. I had a specialty sandwich called the Denise, on their own bread. The mustard wasn’t as spicy as I prefer it, but it wasn’t bad (it simply was a tad bland). Nicky had the borshch (click here and here)… and my bear was disappointed in it. It wasn’t bad… but it wasn’t RUSSIAN (or POLISH or LITHUANIAN or SLOVAK or JEWISH) cuisine. Nicky noticed a lack of dill and garlic, which are ESSENTIAL for a real Russian borshch. In addition, Nicky’s spoiled because he remembers the Old School borshch that the monks at Jordanville made in the day. That’s the GOLD STANDARD of borshch (and of real black rye bread, too). I tasted the CRG borshch, and found that it lacked OOMPH. That’s not bad… it’s NOT a slam. These gals simply don’t have “baba’s recipe”… and all Russians (hell, all Slavs, Jews, Greeks, and Germans) know that “baba’s way” RULES. Whether you call her “oma”, “baba”, “iaia”, or “bubbe”, she DOES know her stuff. He did like his grilled cheese, which had mozzarella in it, on freshly-baked Italian bread. Nicky LOVED the cheesecake. We also bought two blueberry muffins as take-aways (they had PLENTY of blueberries, which suited me just fine), and they were spot-on, too.
Mushroom solyanka… yummy, yummy in your tummy… eshli, eshli, na zdorovorie!
In a perfect world, Nicky could show them a thing or two about borshch… and they’d do well to put a real Mushroom Solyanka on the menu… but this is the real world, and one should NEVER expect perfection (or you’ll be disappointed, perpetually). Toting it all up, I’d give this place 85 out of 100 as a stop for a down n’ dirty lunch or a snack. As a take-away bakery, it aced the mark… everything we tried, we liked very much, indeed. Do note that you must go to the counter, get the menu, and order there. Karen and the girls will take care of you. NO ONE IS GOING TO “WAIT” ON YOU AT TABLE. If you’re in the area for the day, I’d suggest that you stop here for lunch/snack and at the Blue Benn for breakfast (usual hours at the BB are 06.00 to 17.00)… there’s a decent brew pub (not stunning, but a decent choice if you’re in the area… Nicky and I ate there once, not bad, but nothing to rave about) across the street from CRG’s (and a used book store on the same block). You won’t be disappointed. Do note that CRG is open 07.00-18.00 on weekdays, 08.00-17.00 on Saturday, and closed on Sunday. Очин приятне!
BMD
Voices from Russia 
11 November 2013. Sergei Yolkin’s World. Events of the Week in Cartoons by Sergei Yolkin: 4 -11 November 2013
Tags: 1917 October Revolution, Bolshevik, cartoons, editorial cartoons, Jolly Wits Club, KVN, Ministry of Defence (Russia), Minoborony, October Revolution, political commentary, politics, Red October, Russia, Russian, Russian culture, Russian history, Russian Revolution, Sergei Shoigu, Sergei Yolkin, Soviet Union, television, Television program, TV, USSR
Events of the Week in Cartoons by Sergei Yolkin: 4 -11 November 2013
Sergei Yolkin
2013
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Клуб Весёлых и Находчивых (Klub Vesyolykh i Nakhodchivykh (КВН: KVN): Jolly Wits Club) is one of the most popular long-running shows on the Russian telly. It started in Sov times; it ran from 1961-72, and from 1986 onwards. After the August Events, it kept on going. It’s a fun show where contestants from various schools, universities, and enterprises compete in humorous responses to questions, improvisations on a given topic, and in acting out scenes prepared in advance. Click here for the show’s website. KVN is one of the most-loved aspects of Russian pop culture, and most emigrants still follow it.
The ship, of course, is the famous protected cruiser Avrora that fired the first shots of the October Revolution.
BMD
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Sergei Yolkin noted the important dates that came this week:
11 November 2013
Sergei Yolkin
RIA-Novosti
http://ria.ru/caricature/20131108/975563454.html